“The Bear” Writer Alex O’Keefe Arrested After White Woman Complained About How He Was Sitting On MTA Train
Written by b87fm on 09/22/2025
Alex O’Keefe, the award-winning screenwriter behind FX’s hit series The Bear, says he was wrongfully arrested on a Metro-North train after a white woman complained about the way he was sitting.
On Sunday (Sept. 21), O’Keefe went on Instagram with video footage of the incident, showing police pulling him off the train in handcuffs after what he describes as a racially charged confrontation.
“I was arrested on the @MTA train to Connecticut today, pulled off, handcuffed, and detained,” O’Keefe wrote. “You’re gonna arrest the one Black dude on the train, because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting.”
According to O’Keefe, the woman demanded he change how he was sitting shortly after he boarded. When he refused, she complained to the conductor, who stopped the train and called police.
In the clip, O’Keefe can be heard telling officers:
“You call the police to arrest the one Black dude on the train. I haven’t done anything illegal.”
Police allegedly told him to leave the train. When he asked what law he was breaking, they accused him of “disturbing the peace” and detained him on the platform without ever questioning the woman who made the complaint.
O’Keefe says only other Black passengers stayed nearby to record the arrest. He added that when he demanded a lawyer, officers eventually released him without charges.
The screenwriter also claims the woman’s friend told him: “You’re not the minority anymore.”
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The MTA has not issued a public statement about the incident.
Meanwhile, fans and social media users have rallied around O’Keefe, blasting the arrest as humiliating and unjust. One supporter wrote:
“Sue the train company and police for violating your rights.” Another added: “‘Correct how you are sitting’ is insane.”
