HOME / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

'Beef' star David Choe slammed as podcast in which he admits to sexually assaulting masseuse resurfaces

David Choe has stirred controversy over an incident he spoke about in a podcast he hosted in 2014

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: David Choe, who appeared as Issac in the Netflix hit-show 'Beef' is under fire for a video that resurfaced about Choe talking about sexual assault on a 2014 podcast. The porn star Asa Akira and David Choe hosted a podcast show between 2013 and 2014, where they discussed their life, relationships, stories about sex, and work. The podcast was deemed to be "uncensored" and "uninhibited," and all these years David Choe has been heavily shamed and criticized for his actions on the podcast, where he casually talks about sexually assaulting his massage therapist. During the 2014 podcast, Choe shared how he was apparently on an "erection quest," and went to the massage parlor, where he forced himself on his massage therapist. 

David Choe's artwork is featured all throughout the Netflix series 'Beef'. The artist further talked about the incident and shared that when the massage started, he wanted to ask the masseuse, if he can begin to masturbate, but then later shared that he realized that it sounded creepy. 

READ MORE

Who stars in 'Beef'? Full cast list of Netflix's dark comedy show

Netflix 'Beef' Episode 5: What does the title of the show mean and how is it synonymous with anger?

David Choe describes his actions as 'rapey behavior'

David Choe shared intricate details about the incident on the podcast and said, "I'm like, wow, that sounds so creepy. So I go back to the chill method of you never ask first — you just do it, get in trouble, and then pay the price later." Choe went on further to describe his actions as "rapey behavior" and later apologized for his actions, admitting that it sounded disgusting and saying, "I know, I'm so sorry. It's disgusting." Choe then shared that he forced the masseuse to go down on him, highlighting the fact that she "didn't want to do it". Later, he shared that he also started convincing the masseuse to have sex with him, to which she refused. The other hosts on the podcast mentioned this incident as rape, to which Choe said," The thrill of possibly going to jail is what achieved the erection quest," according to Gawker. 

When the video first surfaced in 2014, Choe apologized for his action in a blog post, which is now deleted. He shared that the story he said was a complete extension of his art and then he blamed "bad storytelling in the style of douche" for his blunt comments. In the now-deleted blog post of his apology he wrote, "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." 

On Sunday, Aura Bogado, a senior reporter at the Center for Investigative Reporting shared the podcast video, which was later taken down on a copyright complaint, which was reportedly filed by David Choe's non-profit organization, The David Young Choe Foundation. Later, Bogado shared screenshots of the complaint and wrote, "David Choe wrote to Twitter to get the video I posted of him talking about the woman he says he raped taken down on copyright grounds." Another replied to Bogado's tweet and shared the video with the caption, "Oh this video?..."

'I am deeply sorry for any hurt I’ve brought'

In 2017, David Choe made an extensive statement about the podcast incident and talked about it in length and shared his side of the story, stating that he was in recovery and rehabilitation and said, "In a 2014 episode of DVDASA, I relayed a story simply for shock value that made it seem as if I had sexually violated a woman. Though I said those words, I did not commit those actions. It did not happen. I have ZERO history of sexual assault. I am deeply sorry for any hurt I’ve brought to anyone through my past words." 

David Choe is a well-known artist, who uses spray paint and watercolor to bring his art to life. The artist was previously asked to paint murals at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters back in 2005. And was later paid in stocks worth $60,000 in the company, which then later turned into $200 million when Facebook went public. Choe has also painted the poster of the Former President of The United States of America, Barack Obama in 2008 as a part of a campaign, which was later hung up in the White House when Obama became the President.