Constance Wu, the star of Fresh Off the Boat, has revealed she tried to end her life after backlash from tweets about the show’s Season 6 renewal.
The actress, now starring on Prime Video’s The Terminal List, opened up in a social media statement Thursday after a three-year hiatus.
“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,” she began.
“The 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,” she continued.
“It ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe.”
The star said she felt “awful” for what she did.
“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,” Constance wrote.
“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 that the “scary moment” made her reassess “a lot in my life.”
“For the next few years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health,” Constance added.
“AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough. While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues with our community.”
Constance said her tweets became “so touchy that most of my AsAm colleagues decided that was the time to avoid me or ice me out.”
“I’ll 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 hard time.”
The Crazy Rich Asians star says she’s here “to reach out and help people talk about the uncomfortable stuff to understand it, reckon with it, and open pathways to healing.”
“If we want to be seen, really seen…We need to let all of ourselves be seen, including the parts we’re scare of or ashamed of—parts that, however imperfect, require care and attention.”
“And we need to stop beating each other (and ourselves) up when we do so.”
If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s toll-free number: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) July 14, 2022
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.