After a stellar couple of weeks since its release on Netflix, the show, Beef, has received criticism for one of its actors. The show made its debut on the streaming platform on April 6th and has consistently been praised as one of the best shows so far.
Unfortunately, this new controversy surrounding one of its actors, David Choe (who plays Isaac Cho in the show), is affecting its viewership. And some are even calling out Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, and creator Lee Sung Jin for choosing a "successful rapist" to be on their show.
If you haven't kept up to date with the issue, here's what you need to know.
Why Is Social Media Canceling David Choe?
With the success of Beef, David Choe's sexual assault comments on a 2014 podcast have resurfaced along with his exposure. The artist-turned-actor made the comment in his DVDASA podcast together with Asa Akira, who is a porn actress and director.
In the podcast, the two discussed things related to their lives, relationships, work, and sex. Choe allegedly made a joke about sexually assaulting his massage therapist and getting away with it.
The actor referred to himself as a "successful rapist" after getting his masseuse to do oral sex on him. Later in the podcast, he clarified: "I just want to make it clear that I admit that that's rapey behavior, but I am not a rapist."
Back then, Choe's statements were discussed on a website called XOJane (now defunct) and were picked up in a BuzzFeed article. The graffiti artist claimed his masseuse rape joke was art.
"I'm sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact. They were not!"
After getting commissioned to do a mural in downtown Manhattan's The Bowery in 2017, the controversy resurfaced. Choe then gave a more thorough apology using his Instagram account:
“How does one apologize for a lifetime of doing wrong? Through my past three years of recovery and rehabilitation, I’ve attempted to answer that question through action and understanding. In a 2014 episode of DVDASA, 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. I have ZERO history of sexual assault. I am deeply sorry for any hurt I’ve brought to anyone through my past words. Non-consensual sex is rape and it is never funny or appropriate to joke about. I was a sick person at the height of my mental illness, and have spent the last 3 years in mental health facilities healing myself and dedicating my life to helping and healing others through love and action. I do not believe in the things I have said although I take full ownership of saying them… I am truly sorry for the negative words and dark messages I had put out into the world.”
Again, in 2021, Choe had to address the issue and referred to himself as a "recovering liar."
“At that time in my life, I was done with life and chasing a bottom. I wanted out. I never raped anyone."
In the height of Beef's success, the controversy has once again resurfaced on social media thanks to Aura Bogado, who is a senior reporter at the Center for Investigative Reporting. Bogado tweeted:
"David Choe, as in the guy who detailed the way he raped a woman? And then came back to say it was just a misunderstood version of his reality?”
The tweet included screenshots of the original BuzzFeed article. Ever since then, the public has gotten disappointed with the casting choice.
Some even plan to boycott watching the show as a form of protest over Choe's involvement in the show. Apart from being an actor in the show, Choe was commissioned to do the art for each episode's title card.
Has David Choe Addressed the Issue?
Although Choe has addressed the controversy at least three times, it seems like the internet does not plan on letting the issue die down. Just a few days after Bogado's tweet blew up, Twitter had taken down the tweets with embedded clips from the podcast over a DMCA copyright claim.
The complaint notice sent to Bogado and content strategist Meecham Whitson Meriweather read:
“Several Twitter users – @MediumSizeMeech and @aurabogado have re-uploaded a clip from Episode 106 “Erection Quest” of our DVDASA live podcast and video series that was originally published on March 10, 2014 without our consent."
The notice was then signed as "Sincerely, David Choe, The David Young Choe Foundation.”
According to the Lumen database, Choe's non-profit has also submitted a DMCA complaint to Google to remove the episode from both YouTube and Google Drive:
“On behalf of the David Young Choe Foundation (also known as the Meleka Foundation) and Igloo Hong, Inc the owner of all original DVDASA content, I would like to submit the required information to remove copyright infringing media stored on your platform. Our organization’s original media content from the live podcast and video series, DVDASA (2013-present) produced, owned and featuring artist and performer, David Choe, was downloaded illegally and has been uploaded and shared publicly on Google Drive…. Original sources of material are from our DVDASA YouTube account and website, which have since been made private to prevent more of these illegal re-uploads.”
Have the Beef Cast and Crew Responded to the Criticism?
It is no secret that Choe is friends with Yeun and Wong in real life. The two are also executive producers of the show.
Fans are calling out Yeun, Wong, Netflix, A24, and Lee Sung Jin for hiring Choe despite his 2014 controversy. Bogado tweeted:
"The sound on my first TikTok ever was removed due to a community guideline violation. It’s merited given @davidchoe’s description of this brutal sexual assault.
Waiting to hear why @aliwong and @steveyeun made a decision to give Choe this platform. Silence really speaks volumes."
Meanwhile, Merriweather tweeted:
“I think there’s really only one way to go about it … which is to take accountability and then move forward without him. The thing is that everyone knew. It was complicity. How do you really move forward with that when you are part of the problem?”
As of this writing, however, none have commented on the situation.
On April 21, 2023, the team behind Beef issued a joint statement over the who controversy surrounding David Choe. The statement was written by Lee Sung Jin, Ali Wong, and Steven Yeun; which they exclusively released to Variety.
“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. 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.”
The statement, however, was met with criticism on social media. Some have even called it a "wasted opportunity" and hoped that they could still make it right.
Beef is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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