‘Erratic’ Jonathan Rhys Meyers screamed at wife ‘f**k you I’m divorcing you’ after she asked him to stop vaping during flight, fellow passenger reveals
A fellow first class passenger said the actor was behaving erratically before he even boarded the plane - and was so out of it on board he didn't realize his jeans had fallen down
JONATHAN Rhys Meyers screamed at his wife "f**k you, I'm going to divorce you" after she calmly asked him to stop smoking his e-cigarette on board a plane, a fellow passenger revealed.
The Golden Globe-winning actor was detained by cops after becoming verbally abusive to his wife Mara on the American Airlines flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday night.
But one fellow first class passenger, who was sat behind the actor, told Sun Online it was not an isolated incident and the star had been "behaving erratically" and "intimidating other passengers" for the entire flight.
The 40-year-old, who was travelling with his wife and one-year-old son Wolf, was even involved in an altercation with a member of staff before boarding - after he tried to push in front of passengers who were disabled or needed extra assistance.
Once on board he ordered "drink after drink" and went to the toilets around 15 times where he could be heard banging in the cubicle and talking to himself, the witness said.
At one point he was so out of it he didn't realize his jeans had fallen down to his knees, she recalls.
The passenger, who asked not to be named, said: "I'm shocked that he was ever allowed on the plane.
"Even in the waiting area he was being mean to his wife. He was sat on his own while she was feeding their child and playing with him on the floor.
"He kept going over to her and telling her off - but he had no interaction with his child whatsoever.
"Then they asked for those people who need extra assistance to get on the plane and Jonathan got up.
"The lady at the gate said, 'Excuse me sir, we're taking the people that need more assistance'. And he shouted 'I'm first class, how dare you'.
"And he started getting very loud and they had a really bad altercation. He got very angry that she asked him to get out of the line and he was cursing at her and yelling.
"And then she said to him, 'If you continue to behave this way you will not be getting on plane'.
"He was a real angry, erratic, dark individual. I was so intimidated that when I saw he was sat directly behind me on board I asked if I could be moved to another seat.
"Unfortunately the only other seat was broken but they told the captain about my concerns."
After the plane took off, Rhys Meyer's behaviour worsened, according to the passenger, who was returning from holiday with her husband, a retired cop.
The Velvet Goldmine star kept getting going to the bathroom even when the seatbelt signs were on and was carrying a large vape pen, she claimed.
And despite the flight attendants repeatedly telling him to stop - he kept smoking his e-cigarette.
"He was up and down up to the restroom the whole way - I counted over 15 times. And you could hear him banging in there it was weird.
"He was requesting drink after drink - I heard one time he asked for a spritzer but I don't know what else he was drinking.
"Throughout the journey he was getting more and more agitated, mumbling, cursing under his breath and kicking the ground. He could not sit still.
"At one point my husband had to switch seats with me because it was awful I couldn't relax.
"The flight attendants kept trying to clam him down but that made him worse and at one point he started crying really loudly.
"Another time a flight attendant went to talk to him and you could see his jeans were right down to his knees - I don't even think he'd noticed.
"One time when he got up all these cigarette butts fell out of his clothing on to the floor - and the flight attendants had to pick them all up."
Eventually flight attendants asked his wife - who had separated herself from her husband by putting a privacy screen up - to see if she could intervene.
"They told her that if he didn't stop using the e-cigarette we'd have to land the plane early and get him off so she tried to tell him that," the passenger added.
"That's when he really lost it - he was yelling at her 'F** you, shut the f**k up, I'm divorcing you when I get back, you're annoying leave me the f**k alone.'
"Then he was ranting and screaming, 'Who says I'm using e-cigarettes? Who? Who? Show me who said it.'
"The wife did not say a word, and I didn't see the baby looking at him at that point.
"She stayed very calm and told him it would be okay and tried to give him a water bottle - but he shoved it back at her and said 'Just f**king stay away from me"
"He was pushing at her little divider and telling her to get down - it was horrible - a total outburst. I real fear for his wife and their child."
Eventually Rhys-Meyers was separated from his wife and made to sit in the broken seat - and an off duty pilot was moved into the cabin to keep an eye on the situation.
He was met off the plane by airport cops, who called the FBI, but after the agency chose not to respond, Meyers was released.
The passenger, who gave a statement to cops, said she has since sent a message to wife Mara in which she advised her to get help for her and her son because "no one should be treated like that".
She added: "I'm really shocked that he was let off without charges. I understand he has a lot of issues but you can't behave like this - he needs help."
Earlier his wife apologized on behalf of her husband on Instagram, writing: "J IS extremely sorry for any inconveniences caused to anyone traveling 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.
"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."
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Rhys Meyers has battled the booze for a number of years and it's believed he received treatment in 2007 and 2010.
In November 2011, Meyers was fined €1,000 and given a suspended sentence for public intoxication 24 months earlier.
The Sun Online has contacted a representative of Rhys Meyers for comment.