Constance Wu opens up about her time on Fresh Off the Boat. Image Source: THR
Constance Wu opens up about her time on Fresh Off the Boat.
Actress Constance Wu recently spoke with The Atlantic while promoting her new book "Making a Scene" and disclosed that one of the show's producers sexually harassed and intimidated her on the set of the ABC sitcom.
Constance said that even though she was not comfortable working in that situation, she never tried to come out with her experience because she wanted to protect the show and its impact on the Asian American community. The actress shared that her publisher had encouraged her to talk about the incident in her book, and she did not want to include it because she was done with that chapter of her life.
But after thinking about it, Constance said that she eventually realised that it was important for her to talk about what she had faced during her time on the show because she had had a pretty traumatic experience initially and nobody on the show was aware of it because the show was historic for Asian Americans. The actress said that it was the only show on the network in over 20 years to star Asian Americans, and she did not want to sully the reputation of the one show that represented Asian Americans, so she kept her mouth shut for a really long time.
Constance shared that following the show's initial two seasons of success, the actress had the confidence to refuse one of the show's producers, whose identity she chose to withhold. During the first two seasons of the show, she experienced a great deal of sexual harassment and intimidation. She explained that once she stopped being concerned about losing her job, she was able to begin saying "no" to the intimidation and harassment. She then reasoned that since she handled the situation on her own, she didn't need to tarnish the reputation of the Asian American producer or the show's reputation.
The actress said that the thing is that bad feelings do not go away because one wants them to; they tend to come back and out somewhere, and that is exactly what happened with her. Constance also spoke about her infamous tweet where she expressed her disappointment when the show was renewed, after which she received backlash and attempted suicide. Speaking of the same, she claimed that her at-the-time profane, careless tweets catalyzed everyone's animosity towards her because she had just had a successful movie, "Crazy Rich Asians." She went on to say that while it may have appeared that she was mistakenly thinking she was a big movie star, the truth was that she simply needed a clean slate so she wouldn't have to begin a show with the memories of abuse.
Constance went on to share that some people on the set knew that she was being harassed and going back to work would have meant for her to see all those people again. They said that they knew but they were not in a position to call him out because the producer could have got them fired too, which is why she does not blame them, but still feels like betrayal to her at the time. The actress mentioned that she loved everyone on that crew and she loved working on the show, but it had a history of abuse when it came to her and even though it stopped after two years, she did not feel like going back and wanted to start with a clean slate.
She continued that those tweets that people read and hated her for came from a place of emotions that she had suppressed and later realised that she needed a break and sought help, and after seeking help, she ultimately came out better. She added that every time she talked about it, she would start crying as it was really hard to hold it in for such a long time.
Constance Wu resurfaced on social media three years later in July, sharing that she was afraid to return because she almost lost her life when she made a careless tweet about the show's renewal, which sparked outrage and internet shaming on her, which became quite intense. She also shared that the outrage and backlash made her walk on a path that led to suicide, but she was found by a friend who rushed her to the ER, after which she decided to make her mental health a priority.
Constance's 'Making a Scene' hits the bookshelves on October 4th.
Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org if you or someone you know is thinking of taking their own life.
