After David Choe’s “fabricated” rape story of a “half-Black” 14-year-old, Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong claim he “put in the work” to get better.
Source: Charley Gallay / Getty
It only took one week, dozens of articles, and thousands of disgusted social media posts for the team behind Beef to acknowledge the disturbing 2014 video of Choe.
On Friday, Jin, Yeun, and Wong finally addressed the backlash in a statement to Variety.
“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, the Beef team said.
“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,” they continued.
How are Choe & those who cast him being held accountable?
How can we care for survivors, massage workers, Black femmes, & those who feel harmed by him/the show?
How can we as AsAms take this moment to interrogate what we’ll ignore/permit in our communities for “representation”?
— Bianca Mabute-Louie 雷天芯 (@beyonkz) April 17, 2023
To critics of Choe and those who gave him a new global platform, the latter half sounds more like denial and defense than real accountability. Former fans called out the creators for seemingly defending Choe after his story of being a “successful rapist.”
Check out Twitter dragging the Beef joint statement about David Choe after the flip.
