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From the hit sitcom Fresh Off The Boat to the blockbuster movie Crazy Rich Asians, Constance Wu has done it all. The actor has even written a book.

Wu’s 2022 memoir, Making A Scene, details her rise to stardom and the public backlash she faced after making comments about Fresh Off The Boat. 

Constance Wu had mixed emotions about her ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ role

Randall Park and Constance Wu film an episode of Fresh Off the Boat
Fresh Off the Boat stars Randall Park and Constance Wu | Evans Ward via Getty Images

Wu worked as an actress for almost a decade before finally scoring the role that made her a household name: matriarch Jessica Huang in ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat. A starring role in a major network sitcom should have been a dream come true. However, Wu admitted she felt a bit apprehensive about taking the part. 

“When I got the part, I felt a mixture of happiness and uncertainty,” the actress wrote, according to Buzzfeed. Her concerns? Wu felt she was more of a “dramatic actress” and worried about taking on a comedic lead role. She also didn’t like that Jessica was supposed to be 10 years older than Wu. The actor called this “a blow to my vanity.”

She took the part, and the show’s success led to Critics’ Choice and Gold Derby TV Awards nominations. Wu was finally recognized as a significant talent in Hollywood. But the actress revealed in her book that she experienced plenty of struggles. 

The producer who harassed Constance Wu throughout the first season of ‘Fresh Off The Boat’

Wu revealed that, during the first season of Fresh Off The Boat, a producer she referred to as “M” harassed her. He attempted to steer her career and assaulted her. M pressured her to fire her agent and audition for comedic movies like Baywatch instead of the dramatic roles she wanted.

M also demanded to know things about her personal life. After begging Wu to show him a photo of her boyfriend, M told her to break up with the “pudgy” guy. One night, he called Wu and asked her to come to a Lakers game with him. She claims he touched her inappropriately over her shorts. 

Wu put her foot down by the end of filming the first season. She stopped letting him influence her personal and professional life. When she stood up to M, he allegedly told her she was “insulting the entire AAPI community with her behavior.”

The actress didn’t want to discuss M’s behavior publicly because she was afraid of “stain[ing]” Fresh Off The Boat’s reputation as an example of a positive representation of Asian Americans. 

Social media backlash caused Constance Wu to attempt suicide

It was assumed the show would be canceled by the end of Fresh Off The Boat’s fifth season — something Wu was happy about. “I was looking forward to a fresh start in a place that didn’t hold so many memories of harassment and intimidation,” she wrote. 

However, the show was renewed for another season. Wu felt betrayed by the showrunners, writing it felt “like they’d lied to me.” The actor took to social media to express her displeasure, and the backlash was immediate. 

“I became a headline, a meme, a springboard for righteous opinion,” Wu wrote. “An ungrateful girl making a scene.” The public criticism was so overwhelming that Wu even attempted suicide. A friend found her and took her to the hospital. 

Wu is still working regularly and has appeared in big projects like 2019’s Hustlers, the children’s movie hit Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and HBO’s Velma. 

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