Netflix almost had the best show of the year on its hands. beefA compelling portrait of strangers who take out their self-loathing on each other after a parking brawl has garnered praise from audiences and critics alike. including me – Since it came out on April 6th. But less than two weeks after its release, the show’s legacy has already been tarnished by the controversy surrounding one of its main actors: David Choe, the celebrity performer who plays Isaac, a maverick. . Parole. He has come under fire for his history of boasting and joking about rape.
In 2014, on his podcast DVDASA, which stands for “Double Vag, Double Anal, Sensitive Artist”, Cho told a story about his massage therapist watching him masturbate, then grabbing his penis, then forcing him to have oral sex with her . His friend and co-host, porn actor Asa Akira, intervened, saying that he was “basically” admitting to rape, but shrugged it off.
A month later, journalist Melissa Staton brought after public attention For the incident in a post on xoJane, Cho issued a formal apology in which he Claimed that he created the story, stating it was his mission as “an artist and a storyteller” to challenge his friends and listeners with “dark, tasteless” ideas. But his career continued to grow rapidly. though he had a mural sabotage in 2017, possibly in protest against the same controversy that prompted another public apology, Cho did not suffer any major commercial consequences. Being provocative became part of his brand. one in 2021 Profile In The New York Times, Cho said in 2014 that it was “strangely comforting to be so despised” because the outside hatred finally matched his own hatred. It didn’t bother him that Disney warned its subsidiary FX against acquiring his TV series, the cho show, due to his controversial history. He funded the show himself, and eventually the company bought it anyway. In a smug but visionary quote, he declared, “If you want to come and try to unseat me, that’s fine.”
Now that he has been roped in for a high profile project beef, This 9 year old dispute has become inevitable. Writers Aura Bogado and Meacham Meriwether resurfaced clips of the original podcast episode on Twitter last week, leaving fans to wonder why Cho was cast and what steps were taken beef‘s production team will condemn his behaviour. (Twitter deleted tweets after Cho’s foundation requested that of Bogado and Meriwether tweets be removed on the grounds of copyright). This time, People has drawn attention to Cho’s description of her massage therapist as “half black, half white”, arguing that her story not only normalises rape, but also serves as a tool to objectify black women. Contributes to a long history who experienced sexual violence. ,
so far, none beef There is no public comment. The show’s creator Lee Sung Jin, as well as costars and executive producers Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, remained silent. (Wong set his Twitter account to private in light of the controversy). As far as damage control goes, it’s disappointingly evasive.