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American graffiti artist and actor David Choe has come under fire recently for comments he made in his now defunct DVDASA podcast in 2014.
A clip from the podcast has resurfaced since David’s role in Beef, a new Netflix series, started gaining traction.
He plays the role of Isaac, an ex-convict who ropes his cousin Danny (played by Steven Yeun) into shady ventures to make some easy money.
In the podcast clip, David shares in explicit detail a sexual encounter he had with a masseuse without her consent.
His co-host Asa Akira says, “Eww, you’re basically telling us that you’re a rapist now.”
To which David responds by saying, “Yeah.” He then goes on to call himself a “successful rapist”.
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As Beef has garnered increasing hype and success, the clip has been broadly shared across social media.
The clip, which was originally uploaded by Twitter users @MediumSizeMeech and @aurobogado, has since been removed from the platform for copyright infringement.
David reported the tweet and requested its removal on the grounds that he's the copyright owner of the clip and for “publishing it without consent”.
David Choe wrote to Twitter to get the video I posted of him talking about the woman he says he raped taken down on copyright grounds.
— Aura Bogado (@aurabogado) April 16, 2023
He claims his *nonprofit* owns the copyright to the video of him talking about the alleged rape. pic.twitter.com/6IaSXTOeQ1
Neither David nor Netflix has released a statement on the issue since the clip emerged.
Although this is the first time many people have heard of these claims, David first came under fire shortly after the podcast episode was released in 2014.
He immediately released a statement claiming everything he shared on the podcast was fake.
“I’m sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact. They were not. I never thought I’d wake up one late afternoon and hear myself called a rapist. It sucks because I am not one. I am not a rapist,” he wrote.
“I think rapists should be raped and murdered. If I'm guilty of anything, it's bad storytelling in the style of douche.”
David's claim to fame is as a graffiti artist who painted murals at the Facebook headquarters in exchange for company stock.
He went on to explain that just as his paintings are often misinterpreted, so was his show, and that he's not a credible news source.
“The main objective of all my podcasts is to challenge and provoke my friends and co-stars on the show. We f*** with each other, entertain ourselves and laugh at each other,” he wrote.
“It’s a dark, tasteless, completely irreverent show where we f*** with everyone listening but mostly ourselves. It’s not a news show. It’s not a representation of my reality.”
In 2017 the debate resurfaced after he was commissioned to paint a mural in Manhattan, New York. The mural was subsequently defaced and within a month had been painted over completely.
David Choe's work was painted over on the Bowery Mural Wall pic.twitter.com/nyp65zg0yx
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) June 18, 2017
Other artists in Manhattan went as far as to hold a protest in front of the mural.
In response David shared a lengthy Instagram post to defend himself.
“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,” he says.
“Though I said those words, I did not commit those actions. It did not happen. I have ZERO history of sexual assault.”
The artist-turned-actor apologised to anyone he hurt with the story he fabricated.
“Non-consensual sex is rape and it is never funny or appropriate to joke about.”
He went on to explain that when the podcast was released, his mental illness was at its worst. David suffers from a litany of mental conditions, including PTSD, major depression, anxiety and personality disorder, and spent three years, between 2014 and 2017, in and out of mental health facilities.
“I do not believe in the things I've said although I take full ownership of saying them,” he wrote.
“Additionally, I do not condemn anyone or have any ill will towards those who spread hate and speak out negatively against me. No one will ever hate me more than I hated myself back then.”
Since the podcast clip's most recent resurface, fans have started boycotting Beef because of David’s involvement, with some expressing regret for already having watched the show.
Netflix has also received a lot of backlash online for their presumed knowledge of the incident and for choosing to hire him regardless.
Criticism has also been levelled at the series' lead actors, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, who are close friends of David’s as well as executive producers of the show.
In a 2022 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, David shared that Ali and Steven gave him the opportunity to be in the series.
Following two weeks of silence, Lee Sung Jin, creator of Beef, and the lead actors, Steven and Ali, have released a statement regarding the matter.
“The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing,” the statement reads.
“We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering.”
The trio went on to say they’re aware that David apologised in the past for having made up a “horrific story”.
“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.”
David hasn't made a statement regarding the most recent resurfacing of the clip.
Beef, an off-the-wall escapade about the fallout of a road-rage incident, is currently at No 2 in the top 10 television shows on Netflix South Africa.
SOURCES:HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM, LATIMES.COM, BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM, INSTAGRAM.COM, NEWS.ARTNET.COM, HYPERALLERGIC.COM, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK
