Crazy Rich Asians star Constance Wu revealed on Twitter Thursday that backlash from a series of tweets she’d sent back in 2019 led her to attempt suicide.
Wu, who also starred in Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez, caught flak online when she replied to news of her former ABC sitcom, Fresh Off the Boat, being renewed by saying, “So upset right now I’m literally crying,” and “Ugh F***ing hell,” among other responses.
Her comments were flamed online by fans of the show and others, who called her ungrateful for the show’s success and worse.
In a lengthy statement posted to the social media platform Thursday, Wu revealed, “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,” she continued.
Some of these DMs accused her of being “a disgrace to AsAms [Asian Americans],” and said that, “they’d be better off without me,” she said.
“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 wrote.
The actress added, “For the next few years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health. AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough…there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community.”
“After a little break from Hollywood and a lot of therapy I feel OK enough to venture back on here,” Wu said of Twitter, adding she’s scared, but “I’ve decided that I owe it to the me-of-3-years-ago to be brave and share my story so that it might help someone with theirs.”
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.
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