Warning: This article contains descriptions of and discusses an alleged sexual assault.
Netflix and A24’s new hit show Beef impacted the streaming site’s Top 10 chart immediately upon release, but not all news surrounding the show has been as good. Artist and actor David Choe is facing public scrutiny after a 2014 podcast clip of him admitting to what he called a “rapey” interaction with a masseuse has resurfaced.
Beef tells the story of two people, Amy and Danny (played by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, respectively), who become wrapped up in besting one another after a road rage incident. Choe plays Danny’s cousin Isaac, in addition to providing the artwork used for each episode title. The alleged sexual assault was brought back up when investigative journalist Aura Bogado quote-tweeted a tweet celebrating Choe’s artwork in the show; Bogado replied by writing, “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? Ok.”
In 2014, Choe talked about allegedly sexual assaulting a masseuse
In a 2014 episode titled “Erection Quest” of Choe’s (now-defunct) podcast, DVDASA, Choe details an encounter with a masseuse named Rose. In the extremely graphic story, retrieved from Buzzfeed News, Choe says he began to masturbate during his massage and acknowledges Rose was visibly not interested in a sexual encounter. He then recounts how he repeatedly asked her to engage in sexual acts with him as Rose continued to say no, noting she seemed uncomfortable. Eventually, Choe says he forced her to give him oral sex and that Rose refused to have sex with him. The Beef actor then says he knew it was “dangerous” and “super self-destructive,” but decided to ” go back to the chill method of you never ask first, you just do it, get in trouble and then pay the price later.”
Co-host Asa Akira replied, “You’re basically telling us that you’re a rapist now,” before the other guests asked Choe what Rose looked like. “What the f**k is wrong with you guys? Who cares what she looks like, Dave is telling us he’s a rapist,” Akira interjected before Choe replied, “a successful rapist.” Choe finished his story by saying, “the thrill of possibly going to jail, you know, that’s what achieved the erection quest.”
Choe’s response
About a month after the podcast episode aired, Choe responded to backlash on his podcast’s website. In the now-deleted post (retrieved from the same Buzzfeed News article), Choe expressed shock at being called a rapist, saying, “I am not a rapist. I hate rapists, I think rapists should be raped and murdered.” He continued his semi-apology by saying he views “DVDASA as a complete extension of my art,” and that the story was a fabrication created for the podcast.
“We create stories and tell tales. It’s not a news show. It’s not a representation of my reality. It’s not the place to come for reliable information about me or my life. It’s my version of reality, it’s art that sometimes offends people. I’m sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact.”
Choe would apologize for the story again in 2017, after his Bowery Mural in Manhattan was the site of anti-rape protests and vandalizm from other graffiti artists. In a lengthy Instagram post, Choe doubles down on creating the story for shock value, and insisted that he has “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.”
In 2021, Choe talked to The New York Times about the backlash he received after the podcast episode. He tells journalist Edmund Lee that he was at a low point in his life, and “wanted out.” He continued to deny the incident was true and said of the fallout, “it was strangely comforting to be so despised. It matched how I felt about myself for the first time.” During the interview, he recounts being sexually abused as a child and his resulting struggles with addiction, before inviting “haters” to cancel him.
Neither Netflix nor Choe have responded to the resurfaced allegation.