The Netflix and A24 series “Beef,” a global sensation about two people whose road rage feud gets out of hand and precipitates respective existential crises, has catapulted to be one of Netflix’s most-watched shows around the world since its April 6 release. The show found critical acclaim from the outset. And then it found controversy.
Even a fictional rape story is enacting its own form of violence, playing into and reinforcing values in which dominance is lauded and rape is one manifestation of this zero-sum construction of relations.
Last Thursday, writer and artist Meecham Whitson Meriweather and journalist Aura Bogado both posted a resurfaced excerpt from a 2014 episode of the podcast of David Choe, who plays a role in the Netflix show, in which Choe told a story in graphic detail about forcing a massage therapist into sexual acts. On the episode, Choe joked that this made him “a successful rapist.” At the time, Choe issued a statement in response to backlash: “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.” Adding it was part of his “art,” he said, “If I am guilty of anything, it’s bad storytelling.” A 2021 New York Times profile reported Choe chalked the scenario up to “performance art,” said it was fictional and denied he had raped anyone.
Some “Beef” fans have been outraged since the clip resurfaced and have demanded accountability from the production. Instead, the show’s creator, producers and other actors, including stars and executive producers Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, have remained silent about the matter. By Sunday, Twitter had removed the clip of Choe and locked Meriweather’s account after Choe filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice. (Choe complained that the clips had been posted “without our consent.”)
These responses — silencing in…
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