Crazy Rich Asians Constance Wu returned to Twitter on Thursday (Jul 14) after a three-year absence sparked by backlash from some “careless tweets.”
In her tweet, she wrote that the backlash had been so intense that she attempted to commit suicide, but “luckily” a friend found her and brought her to the emergency room.
The actress, Constance Wu, who played the lead role in 2018’s summer blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, has since written a book about her experiences called Making a Scene.
She added that she was sharing her story because she wanted to shine a light on mental health issues, which are not commonly and openly discussed among Asian Americans.
“I was afraid of coming back on social media because I almost lost my life from it. Three years ago, when I made careless tweets about the renewal of my TV show, it ignited outrage and internet shaming that got pretty severe,” Ms Wu tweeted.
After her hit sitcom Fresh Off the Boat was renewed for a sixth season, Ms Constance Wu tweeted that she was “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. F***” and “F******* hell.”
And when a netizen responded, that the show’s renewal was “great news,” the actress tweeted back “No it’s not.”
Constance Wu later apologized and explained that the context for her feelings was that she would lose out on a project she was “really passionate about” due to her obligations to the sitcom.
But that was too late, as the backlash against her had been severe. Many felt that the actress had been ungrateful and entitled in her tweets.
She wrote, “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 any more. That I was a disgrace to As-Ams, and they’d be better off without me.”
This appeared to push her over the edge.
“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,” she added.
The incident caused her to focus on her mental health, putting her career, as well as her social media presence, on hold for a while.
“While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community…
“I’ll admit it hurt a lot, but it also made me realise how important it is to reach out and care for people who are going through a hard time.
“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,” she wrote.
Crazy Rich Asians Constance Wu‘s tweet has received a lot of support from netizens, many of whom thanked her for sharing her story, as others may be helped by it.
/TISG
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