Actress Natasha Lyonne, star of Russian Doll, Orange Is the New Black, and the current season of HBO’s Euphoria, has claimed she was “detained” by ICE after she was removed from a red-eye Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York City, but the Department of Homeland Security has flatly rejected her tale.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, hours after Lyonne attended the Season 3 premiere of Euphoria in Hollywood.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts first reported by Page Six, the 47-year-old actress appeared “out of it” while seated in the Delta One first-class cabin.
When flight attendants asked her to close her laptop and fasten her seatbelt for takeoff, she did not respond.
The plane taxied back to the gate, and Lyonne was asked to deboard.
A Delta staffer inquired if she needed medical attention. She reportedly seemed confused about her location, asked where she was, and was told the flight had not yet left Los Angeles.
The captain later apologized to passengers for the more than an hour-long delay, explaining that one passenger “didn’t seem up to the task tonight.”
On Friday, Lyonne claimed that she was detained by ICE.
The actress wrote that she had taken a Lunesta sleeping pill once seated “to ensure some shut eye on the Delta One red eye flight to NYC.” She claimed she had been “eager for a nap” so she could arrive “bushy tailed & beauty rested” for a scheduled appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Instead, she said, “I guess ICE had other plans & I was detained instead. Sign of the times, I guess.”
She added thanks to fans, noted she had “never had a problem” with Delta or TSA before,” and offered an apology to delayed travelers and “our unpaid TSA workers.”
Thanks for the great reporting, @enews. 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. Plan was to be bushy tailed & beauty rested, as I was meant to head… https://t.co/gdRIKJ41Lt
— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) April 10, 2026
It is important to note that TSA workers are not being paid because funding is being held up by the Democrat politicians she supports.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security directly contradicted her account.
The official told Variety, “Neither ICE nor TSA escorted or detained Natasha Lyonne.”
Lyonne has previously been open about her struggles with substance abuse.
In January, she publicly revealed she had relapsed after 10 years of sobriety.
Last month, the actress posted that she was “doing a whole lot better” and “back on her feet,” thanking recovery communities and fans for their support.
The post Actress Natasha Lyonne Claims ICE Detained Her After Being Booted from Delta Flight for ‘Taking a Sleeping Pill,’ DHS Denies Any Involvement appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.