David Choe, the star of Netflix’s new hit series “Beef,” is an artist and an actor. But his performance in the series isn’t what has people talking — it’s an admission he made back in 2014 detailing how he sexually assaulted a masseuse, which he later said he made up and called “bad storytelling.” Critics have labeled him a rapist and have called for a boycott of the show.
Here’s everything to know about David Choe.
Who is David Choe?
Born in Los Angeles on April 21, 1976, Choe spent most of his upbringing raised by his Korean immigrant parents in the Koreatown neighborhood. During his teens, he became a spray paint artist, which ultimately led to his full-scale career as a painter, mural artist and art creative. After a short stint attending California College of the Arts and Crafts in Oakland, he went on to self-publish a graphic novel called “Slow Jams,” as well as pick up work from now-billionaire entrepreneur Sean Parker, who enlisted him to paint sexually graphic murals inside Facebook’s first office in Silicon Valley.
In 2007, he held his first New York solo exhibit, “Gardeners of Eden,” and his second solo exhibit “Murderous Heart” was held in the U.K. in 2008. That same year, he partnered with Harry Him to produce an autobiographical documentary about his life entitled “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.”
How did David Choe break into entertainment?
Along with his art background, Choe dipped his toe in journalism when he took a role at Vice to write and do artwork for the magazine after being tapped by Gavin McInnes and Shane Smith. He made a transition to being on-camera when he and Harry Kim came together for their series “Thumbs Up!” which featured Kim and Choe hitchhiking their way from Los Angeles and through Miami, Tijuana and Alaska. The series lasted three seasons on Vice, and its fourth aired on SnapChat and Instagram.
In 2021, he starred in “The Choe Show” on Hulu. an interview show filmed at Choe’s home. Choe would converse with his guests, who included Rainn Wilson, Will Arnett and Maya Erskine. You can watch the trailer below:
Choe has done artwork for artists’ album covers, including Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s partnered album “Collision Course.” He’s also directed music videos for Dan The Automator, and was named “the prince of all media” by Howard Stern in 2012. According to his personal website, some of his clientele as an artist includes Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and more.
Why has David Choe been called a rapist?
Choe and adult film star Asa Akira started a podcast 2013 called “DVDASA,” where the two discussed life and entertainment-based topics. His podcast is where he revealed he’d engaged in “rapey behavior” with a masseuse.
Warning: Graphic depictions of sexual assault ahead
“So, I just take her hand and put it on my d–k, and she just holds it there,” Choe says during the podcast, which originally aired in March 2014 and was also filmed. “And I go, ‘You like that?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, it’s alright.’” He goes on to ask the woman, whom he described as “half Black and half white,” to “help” him become erect. During the conversation, Choe says he forced the woman to give him oral sex, which prompted Akira to tell Choe he “raped” her. The full clip has since been posted online.
It’s unclear if Choe was recounting a true experience or not, and in a statement he released later in 2014, he said it was not fact.
In the statement, Choe insisted that he is “not a rapist,” writing “I am an artist and a storyteller and I view my show DVDASA as a complete extension of my art… If I am guilty of anything, it’s bad storytelling in the style of douche… I’m sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact. They were not!”
Who does David Choe play in “Beef”?
In 2023, he starred in “Beef,” a Netflix series about a failed contractor (Steven Yeun) and an unenthused entrepreneur (Ally Wong) who bump into one another during a road rage incident.
Choe plays Isaac, Yeun’s cousin.
He appears in seven of the show’s 10 episodes.
What has been the reaction to David Choe’s past comments?
Users on social media have blasted Choe’s initial comments and apology, saying that he committed sexual assault and is a rapist. Many are boycotting the show.
Creator Lee Sung Jin and executive producers/stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun — who are friends with Choe and reached out to him to be in the series — were criticized for his inclusion. Wong has since set her Twitter account to private.
On Friday, Lee, Wong and Yeun released a joint statement regarding Choe.
It read: “The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing,” they said in a statement to media. “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 last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes.”
Critics who do not believe Choe fabricated his story say the statement lacks remorse, centers the alleged aggressor rather than the victim, and harms Black women.
Netflix has declined to comment.
Lawrence Yee contributed to this story.