Bradley Cooper Revealed He "Got Held Up At Knifepoint" On The Subway In New York After Getting "Way, Way Too Comfortable In The City"

"I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city. My guard was down."

By
Ben Henry
by Ben Henry

BuzzFeed Staff

Bradley Cooper just recounted the terrifying story of how he got held at knifepoint on the subway while picking up his daughter from school.

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In an interview with Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast, Bradley explained that he'd gotten "way, way too comfortable" in New York City and had let his guard down before the encounter.

"I used to walk around New York City all the time with [headphones]," Bradley said, revealing that the incident happened in October 2019. "I was on the subway, 11:45, to pick Lea up downtown at Russian school, and I got held up at knifepoint."

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"It was pretty insane, but I realized I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city," he added. "My guard was down."

Revealing that he'd gotten on the last car of the subway as always while trying to stay incognito in a hat and shades, Bradley said he was approached by someone who he at first thought just wanted a picture.

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"I felt somebody coming up, and I thought, Oh, probably wants to take a photo or something," he said. "I look down and I see a knife."

The 46-year-old estimated that the knife was two-and-a-half inches long, joking, "I remember thinking, 'Oh, it's a nice knife.'"

"Now, I had my headphones on the whole time so I can't hear anything," Bradley continued. "I'm just listening to music. It's scored — the whole thing is scored."

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"I see the person's eyes. I'm taken by how young they are," he went on. "And then, I'm sure you were taught this, you don't ever run from knife, you just try to, like, stay there."

However, rather than stay still, Bradley revealed that he knocked into the person and started running, jumping over the turnstile at the station and waiting for the culprit to pass before chasing after them to take pictures. He then flagged down a police car to report the crime.

Fortunately, Bradley was left unharmed, and he finished, somewhat nonchalantly: "I got back in the subway and picked up my daughter. It was crazy."

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You can listen to the full podcast episode here.

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