Constance Wu Reveals She Attempted Suicide in 2019 After ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ Tweet Backlash
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Four years ago, Constance Wu was at the center of two projects that helped open the doors for Asian American content in Hollywood, starring in both Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians, and equally as present online, particularly when it came to weighing in on issues about racial and gender equity and representation.
But after a social media outburst ignited public backlash in 2019, the actress went silent, largely disappearing from the screen and from socials altogether. Now Wu has revealed, in a lengthy note posted Thursday to her Twitter account, that cyberbullying from her online gaffes drove her to attempt suicide, and that she has spent the past three years working on her mental health as well as a memoir.
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“It was a scary moment that made me reassess a lot in my life,” Wu wrote in her Twitter note. “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. 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. That’s why I wrote my book and why 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.”
Wu admitted that she is wary of returning to social media after the “outrage and internet shaming” reactions to “careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show.” After ABC announced Fresh Off the Boat’s sixth season renewal in May 2019, Wu vented online in multiple now-deleted tweets and an Instagram comment: “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. Fuck.”
The star later explained that her response was not a reflection of her attitude toward the sitcom, but rather disappointment because its renewal meant she had to pass on a play she’d hoped to do. “I was temporarily upset yesterday not bc I hate the show but bc its renewal meant I had to give up another project that I was really passionate about,” she wrote on Twitter. “So my dismayed social media were more about that other project and not about FOTB.”
But the damage was done, and according to Wu now, a fellow Asian actress sent her a few direct messages on Twitter telling her that she’d “become a blight on the Asian American community.” Those feelings of shame led to an attempt to end her life, which was subverted when a friend found her and took her to the ER.
“For the next few years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health,” wrote Wu, who after 2019’s Hustlers did not appear in another major project until Amazon’s The Terminal List this month. “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’s memoir, Making a Scene, will be published in early October.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255.
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