Selma Blair talks about how her debilitating disease is 'misunderstood'

Selma Blair has been open about the challenges she faces traveling with multiple sclerosis.

"I have dystonia, which is often misunderstood as difficult or drunk,” the Legally Blonde actress Tells Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Jacqui Gifford. “Which I could be,” she added as a joke.

The audience, who were in attendance at Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best Summit in New York City, broke out into laughter. The two-day event was about exploring top trends in the travel industry, including accessible travel.

Blair continued, “When I actually have to hone in, I can get a little bit of spasticity and my dystonia kicks in — so I was always kind of nervous to travel even though it was the biggest light in my life.”

The TV star was officially diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2018 — and has been in remission since 2021 — but shared with British Vogue in 2023 that she had lived for 40 years before learning she had MS (Multiple Sclerosis).

The actress said the disease is unpredictable, but that her body tends to agitate when she is distressed.

“MS is totally strange. We're not making it up, usually, I mean unless it's a really bad dinner,” Blair jokes. “I go under scaffolding and all of a sudden it sounds like I have cerebral palsy…”

Selma Blair usually travels light due to her disorder, bringing only a suitcase and her service dog Scout — whom she got in 2022 after a neurologist recommended one for the potential physical and emotional benefits.