Constance Wu, who stars in the movie Terminal List, has spoken out about the cyberbullying and hate she received for her 2019 tweet about the Fresh Off the Boat renewal.
The actress stopped using the internet a few days after the incident and hasn’t been back for three years.
She eventually spoke about how the backlash hurt her mentally, leading her to try to kill herself. During this time, she also wrote a book called Making a Scene, which she recently tweeted to promote it. The book talks about how to get help when you have mental health problems and how to deal with trauma.
The Crazy Rich Asians actress wrote a lengthy tweet on Thursday, July 14th, in which she spoke at length about the criticism she received from the internet in 2019.
She started by reminding people that she hadn’t been on social media in almost three years and was afraid to go back because of what she had been through. She said she was scared but was trying to get back on the platform. She also did book promotion, writing:
“I wrote a book called Making a Scene while I was away.”
She then opened up about how tough 2019 was for her after saying something “careless” about the renewal of her show Fresh Off the Boat. The actress said that the reaction to her comment hurt her so much that she tried to kill herself. Constance Wu wrote this to explain:
“Three years ago, when I carelessly tweeted about renewing my TV show, I got a lot of anger and internet embarrassment. I felt bad about what I had said, and when another Asian-American actress told me in a few direct messages that I was going to be a nuisance to the community, I started to feel like I didn’t deserve it anymore to live.”
“That I was a disgrace to AsAms and that they would be better off without me. Looking back it seems odd that a few DMs talked me into killing myself.
One of her friends found her and immediately took her to the hospital.
After what happened, Constance Wu decided to stop working and using social media so she could focus on her mental health. Se also said Asian communities are not talking about mental health enough. They also:
She also said that other Asian Americans in the industry “avoided” her because of what happened, which “hurt a lot.” But the experience taught her more about mental health issues and made her realize “the importance of helping people who are going through a tough time.”
She said that’s exactly why she wrote her book. She wants her book to help people going through a tough time “to reach out and help people talk about the uncomfortable things.” Then she went on to write:
“So my book is as honest as I can be, even if it doesn’t always paint the best picture. Because I’m not balanced, graceful or perfect, that’s the truth. i am emotional I make mistakes… lots of them!”
She said at the end of the post that she will slowly start using the internet and social media again.
The Hollywood Reporter says Constance Wu did something unexpected when Fresh off the Boat was renewed for a sixth season in May 2019. The actress posted a tweet:
People online were very upset with the tweets, so the actress took them down and wrote a statement in their place.
“Today’s tweets came after a bad day and were badly timed with the news about the show. Please let FOTB know how grateful I am. I love the actors and the crew. I feel good about being a part of it.
She also told her fans that because of FOTB’s renewal, she had to give up a “passion project,” which is why she was so upset. But that wasn’t enough, and the actress had to stop using social media to escape the hate and criticism.