Constance Wu has said she attempted suicide after facing a backlash over comments she made about the renewal of her TV series Fresh Off The Boat.
In a statement marking her return to Twitter after nearly three years, the American actress said she was “afraid of coming back on social media because I almost lost my life from it”.
She added: “Three years ago, when I made careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show, it ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe.”
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) July 14, 2022
The Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers star, who turned 40 in March, posted a series of tweets in 2019 after comedy series Fresh Off The Boat was picked up for a sixth season by US TV network ABC.
While her fellow cast members shared their delight, Wu, who had starred on the show since 2015, tweeted: “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. F***.”
When a user congratulated her on the renewal, describing it as “great news”, Wu replied: “No it’s not.”
She later clarified that her comments “came on the heels of rough day” and were “ill-timed”, and that the show being renewed had meant she would be unable to pursue a passion project.
In her statement on Thursday, Wu addressed those comments, saying: “I felt awful about what I’d said and when a few DMs from a fellow Asian actress told me I’d become a blight on the Asian American community, I started feeling like I didn’t even deserve to live any more.
“That I was a disgrace to AsAms, and they’d be better off without me. 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.”
Wu said she had written a book, titled Making A Scene, about her experience and that she wanted to help others who had gone through similar things.
Concluding her statement, Wu said that “after a little break from Hollywood and a lot of therapy,” she felt “OK enough” to return to social media.
“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,” she added.
Wu also shared a link with her Twitter followers to the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Fresh Off The Boat debuted in 2015 and is loosely based on a book of the same name by chef Eddie Huang.
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