April 22, 2023
Beef series executive producers broke silence over the ongoing controversy around the actor David Choe.
Nearly a week after an old video of series co-star Choe's telling a story about committing sexual assault resurfaced and went viral online, executive producers Lee Sung Jin, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun have issued a statement.
"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 next decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes."
This response comes after the copyright claims from the actor's foundation requesting to remove the clips of the podcast's episode from social platforms.
For the unversed, a 2014's video of Beef actor Choe resurfaced online nearly a week ago, in which the actor could be seen telling a disturbing story about coercing a masseuse to perform oral s** on him.
The disgraced actor alternately called himself a "successful rapist" and accepted that his actions were "rapey behavior," while denying that he was a rapist.
The story went viral at the time for a short period, and Choe, who was then mostly known as a successful street artist, claimed that he made it up "as a complete extension of my art."
On last Wednesday, journalist Aura Bogado shared the old clip amid a promotional presser for the new Netflix series, sparking an online debate, with urging Lee, Wong and Yeun, as well as Netflix and production company A24 — to clarify whether they knew of Choe’s hideous past and the reason of involving him into the project.