Nine years after the actor and artist David Choe made offensive comments about rape on a podcast, they have come back to haunt him and the hit Netflix series Beef, in which he plays a pivotal supporting role. Now the show’s executive producers, including its creator, Lee Sung Jin, as well as leads Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, are acknowledging the controversy with a statement released exclusively to Vanity Fair.
“The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing. We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering,” they said. “We’re aware David has apologized in the past for making up this horrific story, and we’ve seen him put in the work to get the mental health support he needed over the last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes.”
A hit with critics (98% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (it currently sits at number two on Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV list), Beef has had one of the strongest debuts of any show this year and has quickly begun to garner Emmy buzz. With its primarily Asian American cast and authentic storylines set in the Asian American community, the A24 dark comedy has also been celebrated as a notable milestone in Asian representation on TV.
But soon after its release, Choe’s appearance on a 2014 podcast began to resurface on social media. On his now-defunct podcast, DVDASA, Choe recounted a story about an interaction he had with a masseuse, in which he coerced her into a nonconsensual sexual act. After the episode aired, Choe released a statement saying that he was not a rapist, and that the story was used to provoke a reaction, and was “not a representation of my reality.” He added, “I am an artist and a storyteller and I view my show DVDASA as a complete extension of my art.”
The controversy has bubbled over since then, when in 2017 he was commissioned for a street art project that resulted in protests. He released a long statement at the time that stated he had used his time in recovery and rehabilitation to take a hard look at his words. “I am truly sorry for the negative words and dark messages I had put out into the world,” he wrote. He also again emphasized that it wasn’t a true story: “I relayed a story simply for shock value that made it seem as if I had sexually violated a woman. Though I said those words, I did not commit those actions. It did not happen.”
Although Choe, a visual artist who is known for painting murals at Facebook’s headquarters in exchange for stock shares, has been working regularly these past few years, the high profile of Beef has brought Choe’s controversy back into the spotlight. His other TV appearances include Better Things, Vice, The Mandalorian, and Ugly Delicious. He also starred in FX’s The Choe Show, in which he sat down with celebrities to paint their portraits and chat. On Beef, Choe plays Isaac, a troublemaking ex-con whose increasingly volatile actions have dangerous repercussions for his cousin Danny (played by Yeun).
Rebecca Ford
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