Actress Constance Wu returns to social media after three-year absence

'Fresh Off the Boat' star says she attempted suicide following backlash against negative tweet made about her sitcom being renewed

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American actress Constance Wu has returned to social media after a three-year hiatus following bitter online backlash to comments she made on Twitter in 2019.

The Crazy Rich Asians star said on Instagram that she had dealt with a torrent of criticism over less-than-enthusiastic remarks she made about her sitcom, Fresh Off the Boat, being renewed for another season.

After online shaming from users who called the remarks disparaging and a message from another Asian-American actress who called Wu “a blight on the Asian-American community”, Wu said she attempted to take her own life.

“I started feeling like I didn't even deserve to live anymore, that I was a disgrace to AsAms and they'd be better off without me,” Wu said in a statement posted on Twitter, using an abbreviation for Asian American.

“Luckily, a friend found me and rushed me to the ER,” the actress wrote, without giving further details.

After surviving her suicide attempt, Wu put her career on hold and left social media to focus on her mental health.

But she decided to return to online platforms and share her story to launch a broader discussion about mental health in the Asian-American community.

“AsAms don't talk about mental health enough,” Wu wrote.

“While we're quick to celebrate representation wins, there's a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community.”

Wu's 2019 tweets followed news that the hit ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, which depicts a Taiwanese-American family trying to build a new life in Florida, had been renewed for a sixth season.

“So upset right now that I'm literally crying. Ugh,” Wu tweeted at the time, adding an expletive.

Many users lashed out at her for appearing ungrateful for the popular show's success. She later deleted the tweet.

Wu said in her post on Thursday that those tweets were “careless”. She also explained at the time that she was upset because the show's renewal would put her other projects on hold.

The actress had reportedly been looking to break more into film. In 2018, she starred in the hit film Crazy Rich Asians, which brought her international acclaim and became the highest-grossing comedy of the past decade.

“Even though I'm scared, I've decided that I owe it to the me-of-three-years-ago to be brave and share my story so that it might help someone with theirs,” the actress wrote.

AFP contributed to this report

Updated: June 20, 2023, 10:46 AM