Natasha Lyonne concerns fans over bizarre behavior at NY event two months after being removed from flight

Natasha Lyonne is back in the headlines after a bizarre appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, where she appeared out of sorts while hosting a Q&A session with filmmakers.

The 47-year-old actress on Thursday chat with filmmakers Steve Happi and Dione Roach about their documentary Jail Time Records, which tells the story of a recording studio located in the New Bell Prison in Cameroon, Africa.

A polite Lyonne maintained a slow, subdued pace as she spoke onstage, asking Happi and Roach about various aspects of the doc in a clip obtained by TMZ.

'So, what's happening right now, you know?' Lyonne, who's been seen on Russian Doll and Orange Is the New Black, asked the filmmakers. 'Where do you go from here?'

Happi said it was 'exciting' as he prepared to screen the doc - which won the prize for Best Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival - in other festivals.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Lyonne and the festival for further comment on this story.  

The Poker Face actress asked the directors about details of the doc shot at the New Bell prison - described in a logline as 'one of the most overcrowded prisons in the continent' - with almost 6,000 prisoners living in a facility 'built for a capacity of 800.'

Lyonne asked, 'How do you get the cameras in there? What of the debate between the red and black devil or something? Does that come up?'

At one point, as it seemed whispering members of the audience picked up on the strange vibe in the room, to which Lyonne told the crowd, 'Hey, freakazoids - go Knicks, alright?' 

A number of reactions trickled in on X from fans as footage of the appearance circulated, with some people expressing concern for Lyonne's health.

'Who hurt her?' one commenter asked, adding that it appeared 'she has been in a downward spiral for months; another person said that the star had 'a bad history of drug and alcohol dependence,' amid her own past admissions. 

One commenter observed, 'A captive audience that has to listen to me while I’m f***ed up with a microphone is kind of a dream scenario for me tbh.'

A user said that 'Natasha has always been incredibly sharp and unique,' and 'it is a shame people try to tear down an artist's milestone moment with cheap shots.'

Lyonne didn't 'even know what continent she's on' in the outing, one user speculated, while another said the star has 'demonstrated REPEATEDLY that she is incapable of handling the stress & temptation that comes with a Hollywood career' - and 'needs to get out of the industry NOW.' 

The outing at the New York City film festival came less than two months after the American Pie star 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 revealed this past March that 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 season three of Euphoria, on which she made a cameo. 

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). 

She addressed the episode with an attempt at humor, delivering a series of jokes about the ordeal during the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Spring Into Action Gala this past April 15.

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, Lyonne 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? It’s been a doozy,' Lyonne said. 

Lyonne took to X on April 10 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.’

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. 

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 was 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?'

Lyonne was heard asking: 'Where are we?' and told, 'We’re still in LA. The plane hasn’t gone anywhere. 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.' 

Delta declined to comment. 

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. 

The incident occurred 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.' 

Lyonne 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.'

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.