'Beef' Actor David Choe Slammed Over A Past Podcast Detailing 'Raping A Massage Therapist'

Trigger Warning: The following piece contains details of a sexual assault.

Controversy is brewing around David Choe, a star of Netflix’s “Beef,” following the circulation of a podcast clip from 2014 in which he discussed an incident that has been accused of being rape and sexual assault.

David Choe, who gained his wealth after requesting payment in Facebook stock for a mural he painted at their offices, portrays the dubious character of Isaac in the highly popular limited series.

Netflix

In a resurfaced clip from his 2014 podcast, DVDASA, David Choe talks about touching a massage therapist without her consent and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. 

Investigative journalist Aura Bogado (which has now been taken down) shared the clip, and the full audio episode is no longer available.

The resurfaced clip has gone viral and prompted backlash from social media users.

In the podcast, Choe described performing sex acts in front of a massage therapist named Rose and forcing her to do the same after she had refused.

Despite his claims that it was a fabrication, the story has caused outrage and controversy.

As per reports, Choe, who portrays Isaac on the Netflix series and is also recognized for his graffiti art, mentioned, “So I go back to the chill method of you never ask first, you just do it, get in trouble, and then pay the price later.”

However, after the 2014 controversial podcast, the artist released a statement denying the story’s truth, claiming that the podcast is “a complete extension of my art.”

“I never thought I’d wake up one late afternoon and hear myself called a rapist. It sucks. Especially because I am not one. I am not a rapist. I hate rapists,” he wrote in the 2014 statement. 

At the time, numerous news organizations covered his response and posted it on the podcast’s now-defunct website. He stated the mission of the podcast as follows:

Twitter

“We create stories and tell tales … It’s my version of reality; it’s an art that sometimes offends people. I’m sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact. They were not!”

Social media users are questioning Choe’s casting in light of past comments, including his statement that he is a “successful rapist.” 

Twitter

These comments were previously criticized by activists and organizations like Advancing Justice—LA, Center for the Pacific Asian Family, and South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency, who denounced the incident as an example of coercion and sexual violence.

“Choe’s story reflects the harsh reality that men and women alike continue to believe and perpetuate the dangerous myth that coerced sexual activity is not considered assault or rape. By legal definition, you are committing an act of sexual assault when you do not receive consent,” the organization wrote in a statement. 

“Based on Choe’s telling, the masseuse’s repeated protests, in addition to his physical coercion, indicate that she was not consenting to the acts he requested.”

Choe’s controversy resurfaced in 2017 when a mural he painted was vandalized with the word “rapist.” 

He took to Instagram to apologize for the incident, denying any history of sexual assault.

“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,” he said. 

“I am deeply sorry for any hurt I’ve brought to anyone through my past words. Non-consensual sex is rape, which is never funny or appropriate to joke about.”

Neither Choe nor Netflix has responded to the ongoing controversy. 

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