Beef Producers React To David Choe's 'Fabricated' Rape Claim, Herald It 'Very Disturbing'

A little over a week after the Netflix series Beef's co-star’s 2014 comments about sexual assault resurfaced and went viral online, executive producers Lee Sung Jin, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun have issued a statement.

In the official statement, Lee Sung Jin, the show's creator, as well as executive producers and performers Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, heralded David Choe's story as "fabricated." The Beef producers said in an official statement to Variety regarding Choe's incident, "The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing."

Point of Contention Against David Choe

For those unfamiliar, David told co-host Asa Akira a sexually graphic anecdote about a massage he had from a massage therapist on the DVDASA podcast. However, Choe denied being a rapist when his comments went viral. "I never thought I'd wake up one late afternoon and hear myself called a rapist," he stated at the time. "It stinks. Particularly because I am not one. I do not commit rape. Rapists irritate me, and I believe they should be raped and murdered. I am an artist and a storyteller, and my program 'DVDASA' is a natural outgrowth of my work. If I'm guilty of anything, it's awful douche-style storytelling."

Beef Stars Respond To David Choe, Couldn't Appease Audience

Despite the frantic efforts made by David Choe to remove the podcast from the internet, criticism of his casting has grown throughout the week. In addition to criticising Choe, Beef fans have voiced dissatisfaction with Wong and Yeun, who have remained mute about the controversy.

The Beef producers said in an official statement to Variety regarding Choe's incident, "The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing." "In no way do we condone this story, and we understand why it has been so upsetting and triggering," they stated. "We are aware that David has previously apologized for fabricating this horrific story, and we have seen him work hard over the last decade to obtain the mental health support he required to work on himself. Moreover, Wong's Twitter account was restricted this week, according to users.

Beef Stars Got Criticised By Twitter Netizens

"Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, & Lee Sung Jin can go to hell for this crappy statement about David Choe," Total Gab creator Sha Hartley tweeted. "It's also interesting how Ali said these types of jokes shouldn't fly, but look at her now."

"So essentially they all KNEW about David Choe's r*pe "story," another user remarked, "and they STILL decided to support him anyway?" "That David Choe joint statement should have stayed in their drafts," one person said. "Their continued silence would have been a lot better than whatever that statement was."

Suggested Reading: Beef’s Amy Lau Is Proof That Women Are Not Permitted To Have It All