‘Beef’ Creators Break Silence on David Choe Controversy

Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and fellow executive producers Ali Wong and Steven Yeun have finally responded to the brewing controversy surrounding co-star David Choe a week after Choe’s 2014 comments about sexual assault resurfaced and went viral online.

Up until now, the only response from any of the parties involved appeared to be copyright claims from Choe’s foundation requesting that clips of the podcast episode be removed from social media. But Lee, Wong and Yeun issued a statement Friday, first released to Vanity Fair:

“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.”

In 2014, Choe told a story on his now-defunct DVDASA podcast in which he described coercing a masseuse to perform oral sex on him. He alternately called himself a “successful rapist” and conceded his actions were “rapey behavior,” while denying that he was a rapist. The story briefly went viral at the time, and Choe, who was then mostly known as a successful street artist, claimed that he made up the tale “as a complete extension of my art.”

Last Wednesday, journalist Aura Bogado resurfaced the incident amid glowing press for the new Netflix series, and since then, the story has gained traction among a much wider audience, with repeated calls for Lee, Wong and Yeun — as well as Netflix and production company A24 — to clarify whether they knew of Choe’s past comments and explain why he was brought onto the project. The artist, who has a major supporting role in the series, is friends with both Wong and Yeun and was invited to take the part by Lee, in addition to providing art for the title credits of the 10-episode show.