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- The creator and stars of the Netflix hit show Beef has addressed the controversy surrounding cast member David Choe.
- A 2014 podcast episode in which Choe discussed committing a sexual assault resurfaced online.
- In a joint statement, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun and creator Lee Sung Jin said: "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."
Beef stars Ali Wong, Steven Yeun and creator Lee Sung Jin have broken their silence surrounding cast member David Choe.
The hit Netflix show follows the aftermath of a road rage incident between two strangers, Amy (Wong) and Danny (Yeun), which premiered on 6 April to rave reviews. Choe plays Isaac, Danny's convict cousin.
Shortly after the show's release, a 2014 podcast episode in which Choe discussed coercing a masseuse to perform oral sex on him resurfaced.
At the time, the artist said the story was fictional. In a statement to Buzzfeed, Choe said: "I am not a rapist. I hate rapists."
He added "we create stories and tell tales" on his now-defunct podcast DVDASA.
"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. They were not!"
Deadline reported that Choe invoked copyright laws to have the videos removed from Twitter.
Jin, Wong and Yeun released a joint statement exclusively to Vanity Fair on Friday addressing the controversy.
"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 apologised 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."
This is not the first time the visual artist has faced backlash. In 2017, he was commissioned for a street art project that resulted in protests.
In a lengthy statement posted on Instagram at the time, he wrote: "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."
The 47-year-old has appeared on other television projects since then, which include Better Things, Vice, The Mandalorian, Ugly Delicious and The Choe Show.
