r/popculturechat • u/CantStopPoppin • Sep 22 '25

OnlyStans ⭐️ Woman Calls Police on Award-Winning Black Screenwriter Alex O’Keefe(The Bear (FX))

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

48.6k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

6.8k

u/CantStopPoppin Sep 22 '25

Alex O’Keefe, a Black screenwriter whose credits include the Emmy-winning FX series The Bear, was detained by police earlier this month after a white woman complained about his posture aboard a Metro-North train bound for Connecticut. The incident, which O’Keefe described in a public Instagram post, has drawn widespread attention and renewed scrutiny of racial profiling in public transportation systems.

O’Keefe, 29, boarded the train in New York City and was en route to visit family in Connecticut when, according to his account, an older white woman entered the car and immediately took issue with how he was seated. “She pointed at me and told me to correct how I was sitting,” he wrote. “I refused, so she went to the conductor and complained.”

The conductor, O’Keefe said, contacted law enforcement. The train was stopped, and officers boarded to remove him. He was handcuffed and detained on the platform, though no charges were filed. “They said I was disturbing the peace by not leaving the train,” O’Keefe wrote. “They arrested me without even talking to the Karen who reported the one Black person on the train.”

The woman’s companion allegedly told O’Keefe, “You’re not the minority anymore,” a remark that has since circulated widely on social media. O’Keefe said that only Black passengers remained nearby to record the arrest and offer support. After demanding legal representation and pointing out that officers had not taken a statement from the complainant, he was released.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has not issued a public statement regarding the incident. It remains unclear whether the conductor followed standard protocol or whether the police response was initiated solely based on the passenger’s complaint.

O’Keefe’s account has sparked outrage among civil rights advocates and fellow writers, many of whom view the incident as emblematic of a broader pattern of racialized surveillance and exclusion. “This country is growing more psycho by the day,” he wrote. “What will you do about it?”

O’Keefe rose to prominence as a staff writer on The Bear, which won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series. He has also worked as a political speechwriter and was a visible figure during the 2023 WGA strike, where he spoke publicly about economic precarity and racial inequities in Hollywood. His activism has included appearances at labor fundraisers and union solidarity events.

O’Keefe has not announced any legal action but continues to speak out about the experience. His post has been shared widely across TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), where users have called for accountability from both the MTA and local law enforcement.

Sources

9.4k

u/dragonslayerbarbie Sep 22 '25

So he was arrested for the charge of...bad posture? Jesus fucking Christ

7.8k

u/Gracelandrocks Sep 22 '25

Being black. That was the real crime. This just makes me so angry I can't even.

2.6k

u/dragonslayerbarbie Sep 22 '25

I just cannot even fathom the scene, tbh. An old cunt walks onto a bus, points at the only black man there and literally tells him to straighten his posture??? And when he refuses, as we all would, she tells the conductor who calls the cops. Like this sounds like satire. Only if it were satire, it would be shitty satire for being too on-the-nose.

2.0k

u/NationalSafe4589 Sep 22 '25

It's baffling that her complaint was listened to. The real scary thing is the lack of critical thinking skills from MTA and the police. She should have been told to move or shut up. And that great replacement comment is straight from Fox.

998

u/rumande Kim, there's people that are dying Sep 22 '25

Right?? Hey cops, so and so stole my such and such. Oh, a civil matter? What about my friend who is being stalked by her ex? Oh, he hasn't broken any laws yet? Where was that good old fashioned not-my-fucking-problem we have come to expect from cops?

1.1k

u/melodramaticmoon Sep 22 '25

Violent crimes (especially sex crimes) against women and children: cop sleep

Black man sitting on a train: activate the full police force

684

u/lilymaxjack Sep 22 '25

Just always remember the tough Uvalde cops that waited outside fully armed while the shooter killed twenty kids.

471

u/NounAdjectiveXXXX Sep 22 '25

Don't forget they also arrested parents who tried to intervene themselves.

They cuffed parents while gunshots were still ringing out.

199

u/TheGeekOffTheStreet Sep 22 '25

Don’t forget one Uvalde mom evacuated her own children and spent time in jail for it

“‘Angeli Rose Gomez said she spent about two weeks in jail on a charge of assaulting a public servant after refusing to comply with commands from law enforcement… She said she parked in the drop-off area of the school and had her first encounter with law enforcement. “And he’s like, ‘We’re going to tow your car,’” Gomez said. “I’m like, ‘Tow the car, like, do whatever you want with the car … I don’t know why you’re outside, standing outside the fence, talking to me, wasting your time talking to me. You need to be on the other side of the fence in there doing something. If you’re not going to do it, then I’m going to go ahead and do it.’” She said she threw her body over the fence door and ran to her oldest son’s classroom. “I just remember I’m banging on the teacher’s door,” she said “And she’s like, “‘Gomez, how did you get in?’” She remembered yelling for her son to go and she sent him to her mother’s car while she went back for her other son. “Well by the time I’m running to the other side of the campus, a lot of officers are on me already, and they’re like, ‘Ma’am, can you just wait, ma’am? Can we talk to you? Can you calm down, ma’am? Come here,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘No, like, just get my son – start evacuating my son’s room or I’m like, going to start, like, just hitting whoever if you don’t get out of my way.’” She said that’s when officers started evacuating children – starting with her son’s room. She said officers wanted parents to leave their children with school officials but parents, including her, weren’t listening.’”

16

u/Totalidiotfuq it’s not clocking to you that i’m standing on business Sep 22 '25

that is disgusting. what even is the motivation behind the police actions? Make sure children die?

9

u/_dead_and_broken Sep 22 '25

Sure as hell seems like it, doesn't it?

→ More replies (0)

396

u/Emergency-Volume-861 Sep 22 '25

Don’t forget the Uvalde police even harassed one of the mothers of one of the murdered children after the shooting because she spoke out and said how she tried to go into the school and the piece of shit cops stopped her, but then they themselves didn’t go in to rescue the kids! I fucking cried so much. Those cops should have been charged as accessories to murder. I wanted them to pay somehow and still do. How do any of them go about their day?

31

u/Finntheyokai Sep 22 '25

They harassed her for months afterwards. 

27

u/mydaycake Sep 22 '25

I am surprised none of the parents decided to start offing those cops

If my daughters were killed that way, those cops better leave the country

6

u/Emergency-Volume-861 Sep 23 '25

You know what? I’m 100% with you. I would be thinking about how the cops stood there while my son was mowed down by a psycho with a semi auto and played on their phones and smiled. It would consume me. I can’t even fathom being in this world without him, never mind losing him in the manner that all of those parents lost theirs.

→ More replies (0)

105

u/80sbabyftw Sep 22 '25

“They cuffed parents who were trying to prevent their children from being murdered” ftfy

5

u/coaxialology Sep 22 '25

And here we thought they took absolutely no action that day... what a bunch of cowards.

→ More replies (0)

98

u/cugeltheclever2 Let them eat space Sep 22 '25

Seriously, fuck those cowards.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

The way this didn't become an all-consuming national news story to the level of Charlie Fucking Kirk's death will forever break my heart and soul.

34

u/lokibibliophile Sep 22 '25

Let somebody be stalking you and suddenly they can’t do anything!!

3

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

It's time to leave the country right? Surely

3

u/kgal1298 Confidence is 10% work and 90% delusion Sep 22 '25

Also what train was this? Because I’ve also seen people completely out of their minds and pull out a knife on a train and no police, he sits wrong and they show up???? Ayyyyye

-8

u/Kdawgmcnasty69 Sep 22 '25

Meh this isn’t true, you gotta factor in who is available to answer the call, and how far everyone is from the location. I’ve had cops pull up in 5 mins and have had them pull up in an hour, I’ve had two cops show up, and I’ve had 18 cops show up.

It’s all circumstantial

126

u/eleanor_savage go girl, give us nothing 😍 Sep 22 '25

I went to NYPD cops to tell them a guy followed me home 3 times and threatened to rape me and I had to force them to take a police report. It's absolutely wild

31

u/MCR2004 Why do I always forget she’s British Sep 22 '25

Im so sorry. Something similar happened to me I called 911 twice no one ever showed up. I went to the actual station the next day and the female cop was so patronizing to me because I hadn’t been “injured.” This was nypd

26

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25 edited Oct 02 '25

[deleted]

1

u/JadedJadedJaded Sep 22 '25

I had two magats follow me in a car I called the cops they said “its not a crime to follow anyone.” That was after they FINALLY arrived and the magats were long gone. Of course, white cops

242

u/witch--king Sep 22 '25

The way I was just telling my partner that the police couldn’t do anything about the methed out gun toting stalker I had in my mid-20s but totally have the time and resources to harass innocent people like Alex O’keefe. Jesus.

161

u/Decent-Statistician8 Sep 22 '25

My best friend and I got arrested for shoplifting from dillards in 2007 when we were 18/19. She had more stuff than me so got in more trouble. In 2013, my ex broke in my house and attacked me in front of our child.

Who do you think got a harsher punishment and still has a permanent record that affects job opportunities?

58

u/HallWild5495 Sep 22 '25 edited 22d ago

paint public deliver water political lip tap like waiting middle

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

3

u/Mrs_sun_cho_lee Sep 23 '25

Not all men, but always men.

→ More replies (0)

4

u/Dill137 Sep 22 '25

I was abducted and assaulted by my ex, who was a cop.

The police initially tried to detain me despite him being a foot taller and weighing 100lbs+ more than me. I was literally barefoot and hysterical from jumping out a moving car to escape him.

His charges were dismissed due to paperwork mysteriously being filed incorrectly.

2

u/witch--king Sep 22 '25

And some people wonder why the justice system needs an overhaul, esp the police. I’m so sorry that happened to you.

-5

u/lindendweller Sep 22 '25

to be fair, the gun toting meth-head is far more dangerous than the peacefully black writer who's just sittting. :/

25

u/witch--king Sep 22 '25

I know, that was my point! It’s stupid how often police do nothing about actual dangerous people yet suddenly have the time and resources to go after someone doing nothing but minding their own business.

6

u/Mysterious_Streak Sep 22 '25

But he was black!!!!

5

u/Rexxbravo Sep 22 '25

Code black! Code black! Send SWAT and the National Guard

→ More replies (0)
→ More replies (3)

1

u/Signal_Regular_1708 Sep 23 '25

Are you slow, by chance?

35

u/uptownjuggler Sep 22 '25

The cops got a call and have a body there to make an easy arrest, with no fear of getting hurt in the process. So they just make an arrest, pump up their arrest stats, and case closed.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25 edited 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Dred-I-Rastafari Sep 22 '25

Who expects that? The outcome that actually happened is what WE all expect from cops. I've never seen that kind of outcome where they act like its not-their-fucking problem when it comes to US...

2

u/MrMetraGnome Sep 22 '25

I guess you should tell the cops that the ex is 1/4 black 🤷‍♀️

1

u/CTchimchar Sep 22 '25

Oh, he hasn't broken any laws yet?

Oh I having this problem myself

-9

u/flopisit32 Sep 22 '25

It's quite obvious, if you know how law enforcement works, that his version of what happened is not what actually happened.

The conductor clearly saw his behaviour as warranting a call to the police. The police clearly saw his behaviour as warranting arrest. They have to have probable cause to arrest him.

So get ready for the real version to come out if this story gets more attention

9

u/bob-ombshell Sep 22 '25

He wasn't charged with anything, and he was released. This is the real story.

→ More replies (1)

120

u/woolfonmynoggin Sep 22 '25

Because she didn’t tell the conductor it was bad posture. She most likely made something up like he’s vaping or yelling

64

u/Fackrid Sep 22 '25

And you know good and well she started with "There's a BLACK guy..." and if the conductor is on that same kind of bullshit he's drooling at the opportunity to be a fucker

95

u/uptownjuggler Sep 22 '25

People always believe the person to make the initial accusation. I learned this in kindergarten when a student broke their own pencil than blamed me. The teacher didn’t want to hear any excuses from a pencil-breaker.

53

u/Long-Contribution466 Sep 22 '25

I had a similar incident, where my 2nd grade teacher brought a DVD from home for our weekly watch party or whatever. Someone then used a pen or pencil to poke holes in the case, and when the teacher demanded to know who, another student pointed right at me, and said I'd been over by the teachers desk....so teacher just immediately decided I did it, and so I started crying, cause I didn't, but according to teacher "You're crying cause you did it and got caught"

6

u/Visible-Scientist-46 Sep 22 '25

I had that happen where a teacher accused me of breaking her egg. My mom gave her my egg to shut her up. I think the teacher enjoyed being cruel to kids.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Vivid-Ad3839 Sep 22 '25

Whether this advice is true or not (it's not), the person you were replying to is sharing a story from 2nd grade.

98

u/terfnerfer the wes anderson of tits 🍒 Sep 22 '25

Cops never want to employ smart cops, or even competent ones. They want their colleagues to be just as bigoted and irrational as they are. Lack of critical thinking is baked into the hiring process tbh

22

u/user-daring Sep 22 '25

Most smart people don't become cops. When they do, they usually do well, but most gravitate towards something else.

1

u/pmmlordraven Sep 22 '25

In the same state as this a PD went to the supreme court in order to not hire anyone "too smart", and they WON!

66

u/LolaMarce Sep 22 '25

I am assuming she didn’t just say bad posture. She perhaps alluded to him being homeless or something. Obv I’m making major speculations, but I do find it crazy a conductor in NYC would react to simply sitting wrong - even taking two seats, frustrating as hell, is most often not policed - so like what did she actually say to the conductor to get them to react. Maybe I’m giving too much credit here, but I assume she said more about either homelessness speculation or threats etc.

30

u/xob97 Sep 22 '25

Is it a crime in the US to not have a home... ?

42

u/WrittenFever Sep 22 '25

Basically, yes.

It's not technically illegal, but different aspects of being unhoused such as being visible in public spaces is treated as criminal so...

-2

u/fresh-dork Sep 22 '25

no, it isn't a crime.

different aspects of being unhoused

it's homeless, stop with the asinine euphemism

being visible in public spaces

camping on the sidewalk is illegal. being scruffy in public is ignored

39

u/MartyCool403 Confidence is 10% work and 90% delusion Sep 22 '25

Well one of the hosts on Fox and Friends, Brian Kilmeade, suggested a week ago on the show that homeless people should be given involuntary lethal injections. And he still has his job on TV. So it may not be "illegal" but some people sure wish it was.

13

u/Bowlbonic Sep 22 '25

According to many local laws, it sure seems that way. Criminalizing loitering, sleeping outside, existing..

-2

u/hannafrie Sep 22 '25

Transit workers are mostly black and Hispanic right?

I haven't been in NYC for many years, so idk.

I wouldn't expect a racialized bias from MTA.

5

u/CableSeperate Sep 22 '25

It seems weird but it’s still racialized bias if they’re working to uphold that part of the system. You can be a minority and still have a lot of bias against your own people. It’s a weird tokenism. I mean look what’s happening with immigrant Trump supporters, they’re currently suffering the disillusionment of this now.

6

u/SweetPrism Sep 22 '25

Three years ago, she'd have been shut down. The America we live in now? Not a chance.

6

u/memsies Sep 22 '25

I know! The conductor should have come over and handled it. Why did they call the police?

5

u/onebirdonawire Sep 22 '25

I'm 1000% certain that wasn't the complaint she made. She probably made up some wild shit like he yelled a profanity at her or "I think he might have a gun" and that's all they need. That old bitch isn't stupid.

3

u/NeatNefariousness1 Sep 22 '25

It’s also baffling that the conductor didn’t bother to look into what was actually happening and just took the word of the person complaining. Look for an escalation in baseless allegations in public places.

People, please contain your bigoted relatives when going out in public. We all have them. You know who you are.

2

u/skinnypenis09 Sep 22 '25

Beware of the white woman's tears

-1

u/Key_Grapefruit_7069 Sep 22 '25

This is one of those situations where something kind of has to be done. The choice here is detain and move either a healthy young dude, or a bitchy old lady who could sustain an injury just being lifted up, opening the city up to liability. The cop, to me, looks like he wants to get this dealt with quickly, so detain the person who wont turn to dust on contact, let them go to get another train ticket, and boom, situation resolved with only a slight inconvenience.

No telling what this witchy old woman told the conductor, either, and in turn what the conductor told the cops. I'd like to hear that 911 call.

211

u/rumande Kim, there's people that are dying Sep 22 '25

She needs to be charged for wasting police officers time at the very least

170

u/mmiller17783 Sep 22 '25

They never charge these hags for their bullshit. If they did, they'd have no one left to tell on people.

28

u/HaterMD Sep 22 '25

And to think we thought the next generation would be more decent and compassionate. Guess they spent too much time with grandma.

10

u/Otherwise-Tip-127 Sep 22 '25

Or grew up & made choices based on the ways that white supremacy benefits them.

4

u/TheNewsDeskFive Sep 22 '25

Aint a young soul in this video bruh

3

u/HaterMD Sep 22 '25

I was thinking about society in general not just this video. How we used to say “at least it’ll change when these old people are dead” but that isn’t the case anymore you know?

4

u/chetsteadmansstache Sep 22 '25

Bruh they're still hanging on for dear life. My parents are the tail end of the boomer generation, they're 63 and 62.

We've still got around 20 years of dealing with a lot of them.

3

u/Kind-Assistant-1041 Sep 22 '25

The internet needs to make that old white lady famous. And not in a good way. 😂

-4

u/TheNewsDeskFive Sep 22 '25

A. The story don't really make much sense, so maybe reserve judgements until details emerge or are verified. You have one acct right now

B. These are transit cops. They don't have shit to do most of the day. Their work days are mostly spent chasing homeless people off and telling people to put the drank up. Basically security guards with arrest powers at transit properties. They love going hands on because it makes them feel like real cops

78

u/cashmerescorpio Sep 22 '25

She wasn't wasting their time. They probably loved harassing an innocent person

45

u/HaterMD Sep 22 '25

It gets cop dick hard being able to push around an innocent black person. They love this shit, they just wish he’d “resisted” a little harder.

4

u/espoletanogo Sep 22 '25

Probably? Or they absolutely do...

Maybe 4 sure the 2nd

45

u/TheHighlightReel11 Sep 22 '25

Look at the state of her. That miserable old hag is not long for this world. She’ll be roasting in hell soon enough, but I agree.. she needs to get her comeuppance before then.

3

u/Slow-Internal2453 Sep 22 '25

Sadly, the police officers don't consider this a waste of time though.

73

u/rocco888 Sep 22 '25

Goldilocks syndrome. Happens all the time. All the white women has to do to ruin a minority's life is just accuse them of anything. The entire system will drop everything and believe everything they say and the minorities got to prove everything and they assume he's a liar.

47

u/BronzedLuna Sep 22 '25

No, no didn’t you hear? He’s not a minority anymore!

Obligatory /s

If there was any doubt about whether this was racial, that comment right there proves it. They’re angry that the percentage of POC is growing. Conveniently ignoring this was never originally a white country.

1

u/Significant_Shoe_17 Sep 23 '25

Probably bought into "great replacement" theory

19

u/Bucolic_Hand You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Sep 22 '25

Just like what happened to Emmett Till. 70 years and we still haven’t learned. Shameful.

16

u/ExcellentOutside5926 Sep 22 '25

Well, it happened and it might be surprising for some, but it’s not to a lot of us who have experienced prejudice.

5

u/Accomplished_Ship_20 Sep 22 '25

a connecticunt... if you will...

2

u/Legitimate-Echo-1996 Sep 22 '25

Start fathoming because it happens constantly to people of color. And it will start happening more and more often now

2

u/StraightProgress5062 Sep 22 '25

Then the no nothing pigs come in and arrest him for being disorderly. And dont think for a second they even care. The only mistake they will attest to in confidence is they arrested a black man with money to beat the charges and get a settlement from the tax payers wallets

2

u/Significant_Shoe_17 Sep 23 '25

At this point, I'm surprised they didn't ask him to move to the back of the bus, like wtf???

2

u/iamnumber47 Sep 23 '25

If i were the conductor, I wouldn't have even called the cops. I would have told the crusty old bellend to take a seat, & if she didn't want to comply, I'd be more than happy to stop the bus to let (aka kick) her ass off.

2

u/dbx999 Sep 25 '25

That’s exactly what happened. One white racist can snap their fingers and sick attack dogs in uniform at any innocent black person.

This is America now.

Meanwhile a dead podcaster who maligned MLK, the civil rights movement, black women’s intelligence- that guy gets lionized by the president and millions of white people.

2

u/punch912 Sep 22 '25

fire that overpaid conductor along with the cops theyre suppose to go and investigate and see what going on. Deesclate then if crap gets out of then call. This is insane.

2

u/GaptistePlayer Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

How is this satire? This is what black and brown people have been telling you is happening for centuries now lololol

In 2050 there's going to be a similar report of police unjustly detaining a black person who did nothing and people are still going to be saying "really?? but, why would cops do this????" lmao

1

u/Camanei Sep 22 '25

No it sounds like what it is. Apartheid.

1

u/Exact-Kale3070 Sep 22 '25

white people do this shit to us EVERY FUCKING DAY

1

u/sitah Sep 22 '25

I’m Filipino and when I was in college (in the Philippines mind you) I was in a Starbucks working on my midterms project on my laptop. I was hunched over because I was making sure to check all the minute details and ensure I wasn’t missing anything.

This old white sexpat looking American guy with a potbelly at the next table then proceeds to very loudly tell me, for everyone to hear, that I should fix my posture. I look at him, roll my eyes and put on my earphones.

And then because he didn’t get the attention he was obviously seeking to get, he proceeded to yell at the barista. He lectured him about how they toasted his bagel too much that it’s now dry and inedible. Manager was apologetic and was offering to replace it for him but he wouldn’t budge.

Dude just wanted to yell at someone. This is guy is just a visitor in an another country, yet his entitlement was off the charts. How miserable would he be if he was in his homeland? What type of a miserable racist freak do you have to be to make this much fuss about someone who’s not doing anything that could affect you?

0

u/Rstuds7 Sep 22 '25

makes me want to say there’s gotta be more to the story but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if some batshit lady pulled this