Fresh Off the Boat Star Reveals Suicide Attempt After Twitter Attacks

Back during the May 2019 Upfronts, word came down that ABC had renewed the Constance Wu-starring Fresh Off the Boat. Shortly after, Wu posted a tweet that had many confused considering the good news: “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. F**k.” The reaction on social media was swift, with many accusing her of wanting to abandon the series that helped make her a household name and torpedo one of the rare primetime shows (let alone sitcom) with Asian-American leads. For her part, Wu pushed back by saying her tweets were based on assumptions and not facts, and that she wasn’t upset about the renewal but over losing a project because of the season pick-up. The reaction against her was so intense that Wu would leave social media for three years, returning today to discuss the experience and to reveal that she attempted suicide because of it.

“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 anymore,” Wu wrote in the opening to her statement, addressing how she felt in the midst of the negativity she was receiving. “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.” Here’s a look at the complete statement that Wu tweeted out earlier today, followed by the text of the opening reveal:

“I haven’t been on social media in almost 3 years. Tbh, I’m a little scared, but I’m dipping my toe back in to say I’m here and while I was gone I wrote a book called Making a Scene. This next part is hard to talk about…but I was afraid of coming back on social media because I almost lost my life from it: 3 years ago when I made careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show, it ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe. 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 anymore. 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.”