Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, best known for his role on “Vikings”, was briefly detained at LAX following an alleged verbal altercation with his wife on an American Airlines flight.
According to TMZ, sources said that Meyers was flying from Miami to Los Angeles with his wife Mara and their 1-year-old son when a verbal altercation occurred mid-flight.
The 40-year-old then allegedly became verbally abusive towards his wife following the argument, using a number of profanities which upset the other passengers on board.
TMZ reported that Meyers got up from his seat, walked to the bathroom and started smoking his e-cigarette, which is a federal violation. A flight attendant told him to stop vaping, which he did immediately.
The sources also say that the “Match Point” star, who has struggled with substance abuse in the past, had been drinking during the duration of his flight.
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After the plane landed on the tarmac, TMZ‘s sources report that a number of LAX Airport police arrived and detained the actor, who later denied his use of the e-cigarette.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the LAX officers notified the FBI, however they chose not to respond and Meyers was released.
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The following day, Meyers’ wife Mara Lane took to Instagram to set the record straight, explaining that the actor had been working on his anger issues and that the incident was nothing serious.
“Eight months of sobriety and an unfortunate day of airline travel. We were in South America specifically working holistically through anger issues that result in these kinds of episodes. When in it… he is not in a frame of mind where he can really even comprehend the repercussions and necessary response to his own actions,” Mara explained.
Lane went on to state that there had been no argument between her and her husband, and that it was just a disagreement about him using his e-cigarette on the flight.
“J IS extremely sorry for any inconveniences caused to anyone travelling yesterday. There was no argument, just me asking him to not use his e cig per stewardess’ request to me and him not being himself, speaking very very unkindly,” she added. “It was out of his character. It was unbeknownst to me anything that happened on flight, as I was with my son with a privacy wall up.”
“We are home safe and he is feeling deeply sorry for any remote disrespect afforded to me, attendants, onlookers or officers. Thank you for your compassion on this ongoing battle with addiction we are in,” Mara concluded.
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Meyers opened up the incident during a recent appearance on “Larry King Now”. “My wife and I had been travelling since 3 o’clock in the morning from Peru back to Los Angeles and they gave away our tickets — it was just a problem with the airline,” he explained. “We had our baby, who was teething at the time, and it was all kind of frustrating.”
“So we eventually got on the flight and my wife went to sleep and I very stupidly decided to order a drink,” continued Meyers. “When my wife found that I’d ordered a drink, she got very, very angry with me because I shouldn’t drink. It doesn’t suit me and I had been sober for a long time.”
“And so I felt that mistake and I got upset and I took out an e-cigarette. And the airline staff told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke an e-cigarette so I put it away,” the Irish actor added. “And then I spoke to the Los Angeles police once we got there, who were incredibly kind. Incredibly understanding.”I apologized for my behaviour and that’s the entire story.”
Meyers insisted it was only a hiccup in his journey for self-betterment: “It is a good opportunity to apologize to anybody who was offended that that incident happened, but I learned my lesson. As soon as I got off the airplane I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately.”
