Beef fans have questioned how David Choe won a role in the smash Netflix drama after an interview appeared in which he discusses raping a massage therapist, an act he subsequently claimed never happened and was “bad storytelling.”
The Graffiti artist, 46, stars as Isaac in the highly praised vengeance film, which follows Ali Wong’s Amy and Steven Yeun’s Danny as they spiral out of control following a road rage incident.
However, viewers of the dark ten-part series have been appalled by Choe’s casting after a 2014 episode of his now-defunct podcast, Erection Quest, was extensively circulated on Twitter.
Choe goes into graphic detail throughout the presentation about forcing a female salon worker, whose bottom he initially grips without her consent, to pour oil over his penis and ‘helps’ her masturbate him.
Despite her protests, Choe claims he ‘pushed’ her head towards his penis and forced her to have oral sex with him.
‘The thrill of possibly going to jail, you know, that’s what achieved the erection quest,’ Choe commented.
‘Ew, you’re basically telling us that you’re a rapist now,’ his co-host, adult film star Asa Akira replied.
Fans of Beef were disgusted by the comments, with one saying: ‘Hours later and I’m still disturbed by that David Choe story. We really need to start vetting folks before casting them because my God. And I don’t care if he claims he made it up afterwards.’
‘An appalling choice. His actions and words have been widely known, and courageous artists and activists have protested his work. While “Beef” should be an exciting narrative and a new kind of representation, it instead stands as choosing to platform Choe,’ another remarked.
A third wrote: ‘It’s so unsettling to me that someone like David Choe can blatantly admit to r*pe, and mention the “thrill of possibly going to jail”, while still being able to go on and star in TV series… Yet again it’s proven that our society rewards and celebrates the toxic behaviour of men.’
However, Choe later claimed the incident never happened and was an ill-conceived ‘joke’, adding: ‘If I am guilty of anything, it’s bad storytelling in the style of douche.’
In a statement posted to a now-defunct website at the time, Choe said: ‘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, I think rapists should be raped and murdered.’ he said.
‘If I am guilty of anything, it’s bad storytelling in the style of douche. Just like many of my paintings are often misinterpreted, the same goes with my show.’
The statement added: ‘The main objective of all of my podcasts is to challenge and provoke my friends and the co-stars on the show … It’s a dark, tasteless, completely irreverent show.’
