Constance Wu says she attempted suicide after social media shaming over sitcom comments

Actress Constance Wu announced Thursday her return to social media platforms, saying that online comments about a tweet she sent nearly three years ago led her to attempt suicide.

Wu, star of “Crazy Rich Asians,” was slammed online when she said she was upset that her ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat” had been renewed by the network for a sixth season in May 2019.

“So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh,” Wu tweeted then. After backlash about the tweet started, she explained that she sent the tweets “on the heels of rough day & were ill timed (with) the news of the show.”

In Thursday’s tweet, Wu said that an onslaught of criticism, including comments from other Asian actresses, caused her to attempt suicide.

“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,” wrote Wu, “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 paused her acting career to focus on her mental health, she said.

Now, she says she wants to share her story.

“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 wrote.

Wu has a memoir coming out in the fall.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (or 988 beginning Saturday) to connect with a trained counselor or visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline site.

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