Constance Wu made a return to social media after nearly three years offline and she’s addressing her absence and the reason behind it.
The actress got candid about the reason behind her exit from social platforms and how it stemmed from the backlash she received for making comments about the renewal of her former ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat. The reactions were so intense Wu reveals she actually attempted to take her own life.
“I haven’t been on social media in almost 3 years. Tbh, I’m a little scared, but I’m dipping my toe back in to say I’m here and while I was gone I wrote a book called Making a Scene,” Wu’s long statement begins. “This next part is hard to talk about…but I was afraid of coming back on social media because I almost lost my life from it: 3 years ago, when I made careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show, it ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe.”
(Credit: Tyler Golden / ©ABC / courtesy Everett Collection)
The responses to Wu’s comments left her upset. “I felt awful about what l’d said, and when a few DMs from a fellow Asian actress told me l’d become a blight on the Asian American community, I started feeling like I didn’t even deserve to live anymore,” Wu went on. “Looking back, it’s surreal that a few DMs convinced me to end my own life, but that’s what happened. Luckily, a friend found me and rushed me to the ER.”
In May 2019, Wu tweeted out some responses to Fresh Off the Boat‘s renewal that made onlookers believe she was upset about the announcement, stirring up attention that ultimately led to the frenzy she’s referencing in this social media post now.
Looking back on her near-death experience, Wu notes, “It was a scary moment that made me reassess a lot in my life. For the next few years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health. AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough. While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community.”
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) July 14, 2022
“Even my tweets became a subject so touchy that most of my AsAm colleagues decided that was the time to avoid me or ice me out,” she continues. “I’ll admit it hurt a lot, but it also made me realize how important it is to reach out and care for people who are going through a hard time.”
This is the reason why Wu wrote the book Making a Scene. “I’m here today to reach out and help people talk about the uncomfortable stuff in order to understand it, reckon with it, and open pathways to healing.” Along with Fresh Off the Boat, Wu is best known on TV for her roles in the recently-released show The Terminal List in which she starred alongside Chris Pratt and Prime Video‘s anthology series Solos. The actress made a splash with films like Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers in the years since she broke out in Fresh Off the Boat which ran from 2015 to 2020.
“After a little break from Hollywood and a lot of therapy I feel OK enough to venture back on here (at least for a little bit). And even though I’m scared, I’ve decided that I owe it to the me-of-3 years-ago to be brave and share my story so that it might help someone with theirs,” Wu concluded. See her full statement, above.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
