‘The Bear’ writer Alex O’Keefe detained on train following complaint from “old white woman”

Posted On September 23, 2025September 23, 2025

Alex O’Keefe, a former writer on The Bear, has taken to social media after being detained following a complaint from an “old white woman” on a train.

The incident is said to have occurred on a transit train in Connecticut. O’Keefe shared with his followers that the complaint was made in regards to the way he was sitting, which led to him being arrested.

O’Keefe, who is Black, stated that “an old white woman got on the train and immediately pointed at me and told me to correct how I was sitting”. He continued, “I refused so she went to the conductor and complained. The conductor called the police and stopped the train.”

He said in a video uploaded to social media of his interaction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as they attempted to handcuff him: “This white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train, so you call the police to arrest the one Black dude on the train.”

During the video, O’Keefe also said on several occasions, “I haven’t done anything illegal.” After asking why he was being arrested, the writer was then told by an officer it was due to “disorderly conduct”.

According to a statement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the incident occurred on a train from Grand Central Terminal in New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, at around 10:30am on September 18th.

Their statement reads, “A conductor reported a passenger occupying two seats had refused to remove his feet from one of the seats. When MTAPD officers boarded, he refused police direction to exit. Officers told the passenger to depart the train onto the platform, where he would be able to board a following train.”

They then said that O’Keefe “continued to refuse to exit” the train, which delayed service for six minutes. The statement added, “The passenger involved was handcuffed and removed from the train, where he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, a violation, without further incident at approximately 1048 hours, and allowed to board the next train to complete his trip.”

Additionally, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Janno Lieber, addressed the incident at a press conference on September 22nd regarding a different issue. Lieber said (per People), “If you’re putting your feet on the seats, you’re breaking the rules of our commuter railroad and of the subways of the whole MTA.”

Lieber, who admitted to not seeing the video, added, “The police have to get involved because somebody won’t take his feet off the seat? Just take your feet off the seat. It’s that simple. And respect other passengers.”

O’Keefe co-wrote eight episodes of the first series of The Bear in 2022, but has not been involved in any other seasons of the hit FX show.

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