Constance Wu has been open about her mental health crisis since her 2019 Fresh Off the Boat controversy on Twitter.
The Crazy Rich Asians actress took to Twitter on Thursday to share her first social media post in almost three years.
Her break followed a series of disappointed tweets she shared in response to the renewal of her ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat. At the time, Wu wrote of the balloon show’s renewal at the time: “So upset right now I’m literally crying. Ugh.” After the backlash from her tweets, she explained: “I was temporarily upset yesterday, but I didn’t hate the show, and renewing it meant I had to let go of another project that I was really passionate about.”
In her post Thursday, Wu said she was “afraid” to return to social media, but was doing so to promote her upcoming book, Making a Scene. She also shared that the reaction made her try to end her life.
“It’s hard to talk about this next part … but I was afraid to go back on social media because I almost lost my life to it,” she wrote. “3 years ago when I made some careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show, it caused outrage and internet shaming that got pretty heavy. I felt terrible about what I had said, and when several DMs from another Asian actress told me that I would become a stain on the Asian American community, I began to feel like I didn’t even deserve to live anymore. That I was a disgrace to the AsAms and they would be better off without me. Looking back, it’s surreal that several DMs convinced me to end my life, but it happened. Luckily, a friend found me and took me to the emergency room. It was a scary moment that made me rethink a lot of things in my life.”
Wu shared that after her mental health crisis, she took a break from her career.
“AsAms don’t talk enough about mental health,” the Hustlers star noted. “While we are quick to celebrate performance victories, there is a lot of avoidance of the more inconvenient issues in our community. Even my tweets have become such a touchy subject that most of my AsAm colleagues have decided that this is the time to avoid or reject me. I 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 difficult time.”
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Wu said she wrote “Creating the Scene” to “reach out and help people talk about uncomfortable things to understand, come to terms with, and open pathways to healing.”
“If we want to be noticed, really noticed…we must allow all of ourselves to be noticed, including the parts we fear or are ashamed of—parts that, however imperfect, require care and attention.” And we need to stop beating each other (and ourselves) when we do,” she continued. “So while my book isn’t always the most flattering description, it’s as honest as I know how to be. Because the truth is, I’m not poised, graceful, or perfect. I’m emotional. make mistakes…lots of them! After a little break from Hollywood and lots of therapy, I’m feeling well enough to venture back here (at least for a little while). And even though I’m scared, I decided I owed it to me from 3 years ago to be brave and share my story so it can help someone with theirs.”
Wu currently stars alongside Chris Pratt in Prime Video’s The Terminal List.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call 911 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the text crisis line at 741741. In effective July 16, call 988.
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