A black writer for the hit TV series The Bear says he was detained by police because an elderly white ‘Karen’ didn’t like the way he was sitting on a train.
Alex O’Keefe posted a video of him being pulled off an MTA train bound for Connecticut and placed in handcuffs on Thursday while at the Fordham Metro-North station in the Bronx.
The award-winning screenwriter shared a clip on Instagram of him being approached by MTA police after the woman ‘complained’ to the conductor about how he was sitting.
O’Keefe was accused of ‘occupying two seats’ with his feet, an MTA spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
When officers arrived, the writer was ‘observed with both legs stretched across an adjacent seat,’ they added.
Video shows the unidentified woman, wearing a blue face mask and bright yellow glasses on her head, watching on as officers slapped handcuffs on O’Keefe’s wrists.
The 31-year-old, who also worked as a speechwriter for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey, continuously called the woman out in the video and pointed at her while cops escorted him off the train.
‘This white woman didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train, so you call the police, you call the police to arrest the one black dude on the train,’ O’Keefe said as he looked directly at the woman while officers pulled him out of his seat.
Alex O’Keefe, a writer for the hit series The Bear, said he was detained by MTA Police on Thursday after he ‘refused’ to fix his sitting position that an elderly white ‘Karen’ complained about. (Pictured: O’Keefe surrounded by four officers after being pulled of the train)
The unidentified woman, dressed in a brown coat, multicolored scarf, blue facemask and bright yellow glasses on her head, watched on as O’Keefe was dragged off the train
‘I haven’t done anything illegal,’ he repeatedly said as a female officer is heard telling him, ‘Let’s go.’
But when police got on board, O’Keefe ‘refused’ to exit, the spokesperson said.
‘The train was en route from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven, when a conductor reported a passenger occupying two seats had refused to remove his feet from one of the seats,’ they said, adding that bodycam and on-board footage showed O’Keefe ‘with both legs stretched across an adjacent seat.’
When officers got to the scene, the writer ‘refused police direction to exit,’ the spokesperson continued.
In the video, O’Keefe asked what he was being detained for, as a male officer told him: ‘You’re being disorderly,’ to which he replied: ‘I was sitting on a train!’
O’Keefe also claimed that before police arrived, ‘the old Karen’s friend said, “You’re not the minority anymore”.’
‘They pulled me off the train and arrested me without even talking to the Karen who reported the one black person on the train,’ he wrote in the caption. ‘On the platform, the police detained me and interrogated me.’
An image, also posted by O’Keefe, showed him facing a cement wall while four officers surrounded him.
His hands were seen behind his back, and according to the writer, ‘Only black folks stayed nearby and recorded the arrest.’
‘When I demanded a lawyer and reminded them they didn’t even take a statement from the woman who complained they eventually released me,’ he wrote.
‘This country is growing more psycho by the day. What will you do about it?’
O’Keefe was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, a violation, the MTA said.
In the clip, O’Keefe was heard repeatedly asking officers why he was being deatined, as one told him: ‘You’re being disorderly’
O’Keefe also said in the caption of his post that before police arrived ‘the old Karen’s friend said ‘You’re not the minority anymore.’ (Pictured: An elderly white man watching the dramatic scene)
The Daily Mail has contacted O’Keefe for comment.
The now-viral video has enraged many online, as users quickly took to O’Keefe’s post and defended him.
‘Sue the train company and police for violating your rights,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘I’m sorry this happened to you ! This is beyond humiliating and awful. I hope you find justice and make noise!!’
Several people also tagged the New York City MTA and MTA Metro North Instagram pages, directly asking them what they were going to do about the alleged incident.
‘@mta how will you ensure Black riders are safe from racism on your trains????,’ a user commented.
Along with writing for the hit FX series, O’Keefe (pictured in March 2023) also worked as a speechwriter for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey
O’Keefe is a member of the Writers Guild of America who took part in the 2023 strike to stand up for conditions he and others and his profession were facing.
At the time, he told the BBC that he often worked on the FX show, starring Jeremy Allen White, from his ‘tiny’ Brooklyn apartment.
He would even go to the public library when the electricity went out at his home.
‘We are finding ourselves unable to survive in places like New York City and Los Angeles, where [when] we need to be in writers’ rooms,’ he told the outlet.
