Constance Wu has returned to Twitter after a three-year mental health hiatus, revealing that the backlash to her series of “careless” tweets in 2019 led to a suicide attempt. She also announced a book called Making a Scene, which she wrote to “help people talk about the uncomfortable stuff in order to understand it, reckon with it, and open pathways to healing.”
“I haven’t been on social media in almost 3 years,” Wu wrote in a note posted to Twitter. “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.”
She continued, “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.”
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Wu added that she put her career aside to “focus on my mental health” while criticizing the lack of support within the Asian American community. “AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough,” she wrote. “While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community. Even my tweets became a subject so touchy that most of my AsAm colleagues decided that was the time to avoid me or ice me out.”
“If we want to be seen, really seen… we need to let all of ourselves be seen, including the parts we’re scared of or ashamed of — parts that, however imperfect, require care and attention,” she concluded. “And we need to stop beating each other (and ourselves) up when we do. So while my book is not always the most flattering portrayal, it’s as honest as I know how to be. Because the truth is, I’m not poised or graceful or perfect.”
Back in May 2019, Wu publicly expressed how she was upset over the renewal of Fresh Off the Boat in a series of since-deleted tweets before clarifying that the show getting picked up for a sixth season meant she had to give up another project she was “really passionate about.”
Since then, Wu has starred in 2019’s Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez and most recently appeared in the Prime Video series The Terminal List. Later this year, she will star in the film adaptation of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.
Making a Scene is out on October 4th. Pre-order your copy here.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to https://t.co/rRfEpX8Lhm
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) July 14, 2022