A black writer from the successful TV series The Bear claims he was arrested because an elderly white ‘Karen’ was displeased with his refusal to remove his feet from a train seat.
Alex O’Keefe, an award-winning screenwriter, shared a video showing him being taken off an MTA train in handcuffs on Thursday while en route to Connecticut.
On Instagram, he posted footage of MTA police approaching him after the woman ‘complained’ to the conductor about his seating posture, according to O’Keefe.
The unidentified woman, wearing a blue face mask and bright yellow glasses on her head, watched as officers slapped handcuffs on O’Keefe’s wrists.
Having also worked as a speechwriter for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey, O’Keefe repeatedly called out the woman in the video, pointing at her as police escorted him off the train.
‘This white woman disliked my seating position on the train, so you call the police to arrest the one black dude on the train,’ O’Keefe remarked, looking directly at the woman while officers removed him from his seat.
‘I haven’t done anything illegal,’ he repeatedly said as a female officer is heard telling him ‘Let’s go.’
When asked what he’s being arrested for, a male officer told him: ‘You’re being disorderly,’ to which he replied: ‘I was sitting on a train!’
Alex O’Keefe, involved with the popular series The Bear, stated he was detained by MTA Police on Thursday after ‘refusing’ to adjust his sitting position, which an elderly white ‘Karen’ had complained about. (Pictured: O’Keefe surrounded by four officers after being taken off 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
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. He was later released.
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?’
The Daily Mail has contacted the MTA and O’Keefe for comment.
The now-viral video has enraged many online, as users quickly took to O’Keefe’s post and defended him.
In the clip, O’Keefe was heard repeatedly asking officers why he was being arrested, 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)
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
‘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.
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.
