Natasha Lyonne brushed off the controversy surrounding her removal from a Delta flight as she stepped out at a Planned Parenthood gala in New York on Wednesday.
The Euphoria star, 47, made headlines last week after she was escorted off a New York-bound flight following an onboard disturbance that caused a delay of more than an hour before departure.
Eyewitnesses claimed Lyonne, who had recently revealed she had broken a sobriety streak of nearly a decade, was asked whether she required ‘medical attention’ before crew reportedly told her the aircraft would not depart until she disembarked.
The incident reportedly took place just hours after she attended the premiere of Euphoria season three.
In the aftermath, Lyonne suggested she had taken a sleeping pill and later claimed she was briefly detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Wednesday, she addressed the episode with an attempt at humor, delivering a series of cringeworthy jokes about the ordeal during the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Spring Into Action Gala.
Natasha Lyonne brushed off the controversy surrounding her removal from a Delta flight as she stepped out at a Planned Parenthood gala in New York on Wednesday
On Wednesday, she addressed the episode with an attempt at humor, delivering a series of cringe-worthy jokes about the ordeal during the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Spring Into Action Gala
While taking the stage to pay tribute to honoree Pink, Lyonne told the audience, ‘Talk about a legend. She, like me, does not put up with people telling her what to do, how to act, or what to say… or when to fly.’
As the crowd erupted in cheers, in footage shared by People, the Orange Is the New Black star added, ‘Made three flights since then! Eat my shorts.’
She also made light of the incident in an interview with Page Six, after the outlet asked how she was faring in the aftermath.
‘Oh, you mean my flight plans? My performance art piece?’ she quipped.
‘It’s been a doozy,’ Lyonne added.
Last Friday, Lyonne took to X to address the incident, offering her own account of what unfolded during the chaotic flight.
‘Indeed, I took a Lunesta once seated, to ensure some shut eye on the Delta One red eye flight to NYC.
‘Boarded seamlessly with just a backpack and sneakers, eager for a nap.’
While taking the stage to pay tribute to honoree Pink, Lyonne told the audience, ‘Talk about a legend. She, like me, does not put up with people telling her what to do, how to act, or what to say… or when to fly’; (pictured April 7)
She continued: ‘Plan was to be bushy tailed & beauty rested, as I was meant to head straight to glam for a slot with our beloved @DrewBarrymore, upon landing.
‘Was looking forward to seeing Drew & an in depth convo, but I guess ICE had other plans & I was detained instead. Sign of the times, I guess.’
Lyonne went on to thank fans and airport staff, writing: ‘Thanks for all the love and support. Never had a problem with @Delta or @TSA before. Heart is with our unpaid @TSA workers. [two beating heart emojis] Apologies to any travelers who were delayed.’
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later disputed her account, stating that neither ICE nor TSA had detained or escorted the actress.
‘Neither ICE nor TSA escorted or detained Natasha Lyonne,’ a DHS spokesperson told TMZ.
During the incident, Lyonne was reportedly seen appearing ‘out of it’ as she prepared to depart Los Angeles on April 7, just hours after attending the Euphoria season three premiere in Hollywood.
She later made it to New York, appearing on the red carpet for the documentary Lorne in the Bronx on Thursday night.
The incident came just months after Lyonne revealed she had experienced a relapse following nearly a decade of sobriety.
She also made light of the incident in an interview with Page Six after being asked how she was faring in the aftermath, quipping, ‘Oh, you mean my flight plans? My performance art piece?’ before adding, ‘It’s been a doozy,’ Lyonne said; (pictured Monday)
Lyonne was sitting in first class and still in some of the clothing she wore at the premiere when the drama began, according to Page Six.
The staff were eventually able to retrieve her laptop and the plane taxied onto the runway before it returned to the gate, where a Delta staffer boarded to speak to Lyonne.
‘Ma’am, do you need medical attention?’ the employee reportedly asked Lyonne. ‘Ma’am, I need you to come off the plane. Do you need help with your belongings?’
‘Where are we?’ she was heard asking.
‘We’re still in LA. The plane hasn’t gone anywhere,’ they said. ‘The plane is not going anywhere until you come off it.’
According to Page Six, Lyonne ‘coolly shushed’ the staffer before heading towards the bathroom and coming out snacking on a bag of pretzels.
She departed the plane obediently after her luggage was removed.
The captain later revealed they had dealt with a passenger who was unable to follow ‘basic commands’ as they addressed the more than hour-long delay for travelers waiting to get to New York.
‘We have a passenger who, for whatever reason… wouldn’t follow some basic commands… We had a passenger who didn’t seem up to the task tonight, so that’s why they were asked to be booked on another flight,’ the captain reportedly said.
‘I do apologize for the inconvenience, but we will get you to New York as quickly and as safely as possible.’
Earlier in the evening, Lyonne had shocked fans when she walked the red carpet flashing her braless bust in a mesh top, as she plugged her role in Euphoria. Above, with Brian Grazer
She eventually made it to New York City as she appeared on the red carpet of documentary Lorne in the Bronx on Thursday night
The Daily Mail contacted representatives for Lyonne for comment earlier this week but did not immediately hear back. Delta declined to comment.
Earlier in the evening, she had shocked fans when she walked the red carpet flashing her braless bust in a mesh top, as she plugged her role in Euphoria.
The incident comes three months after she revealed she suffered a relapse.
‘Took my relapse public, more to come,’ Lyonne told her 545,000 followers, who showered her with support.
‘Thanks, boss … for the grace, etc.,’ the actress wrote in response to one bolstering comment. ‘Sending love back your way. May become a pothead or a nun. TBD.’
Lyonne didn’t give an exact time frame of when the relapse occurred or how, but she stressed that ‘recovery is a lifelong process.’
‘Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone,’ her written message continued on Saturday, January 24.
‘Grateful for love and smart feet. Gonna do it for baby Bambo. Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets.’
The incident comes three months after Lyonne revealed she had suffered a relapse after being sober for nearly 10 years – pictured April 7
A witness observed Lyonne being given instructions by multiple flight attendants, and the actress was reportedly dozing off during the mishap. She was heard telling flight attendants at one point: ‘Ah! You scared me!’
The Orange Is The New Black alum added: ‘If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone, we will see how our experience may help another. Keep going, kiddos. Don’t quit before the miracle. Wallpaper your mind with love. Rest is all noise and baloney.’
To one devotee, she wrote, ‘Love ya back,’ and to another, she confided, ‘We need better systems and to end shame — bill the Sacklers and stilettos or something but don’t @ me for getting honest.’
She was referring to the notorious Sackler family, known for owning Purdue Pharma, which developed the highly addictive pain medication OxyContin and amassed billions from its sales.
Last year, the company was forced to cough up a $7.4 billion settlement for its role in the current opioid epidemic.
In March, she offered an update on her sobriety journey: ‘Proud to report this kid is doing a whole lot better & back on her feet,’ she posted to X.
Lyonne, who completed rehab in 2006, previously spoke about her downward spiral into drug and alcohol addiction in a candid interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2012.
‘Spiraling into addiction is really, really scary,’ she said. ‘Some things have a very A-to-B scientific effect. Like, alcohol is a depressant. Cocaine is a stimulant. And then: Cocaine plus heroin is bad! That’s the point of my story, that’s the moral. Coke plus heroin equals speedball. And speedball equals bad, you know?
‘It’s weird to talk about,’ she said at the time. ‘I was definitely as good as dead, you know? A lot of people don’t come back. That makes me feel wary and self-conscious. I wouldn’t want to feel prideful about it. People really rallied around me and pulled me up by my f***ing bootstraps.’
The New York City native took to social media in January saying she felt better after her relapse
She was heard telling staff after apparently getting startled at one point: ‘Ah! You scared me!’
Lyonne was making headlines in the early to mid-2000s but not the nice kind: a drunk-driving arrest, a run-in with a neighbor resulting in a court appearance, hospitalization for hepatitis C, a collapsed lung, infective endocarditis and later open-heart surgery to correct damage done.
In 2006, at age 27, she checked into an inpatient rehab for treatment for her drug and alcohol abuse.
‘Eventually, I made it through those dark nights of the soul,’ Lyonne told The Times in 2024.
Lyonne has seen a career resurgence in her 40s, and recently she has shifted her focus away from starring roles to directing, writing and producing, such as the 1980s-set boxing film Bambo.
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