Photo: FB screengrab/CrazyRichAsiansMovie
Crazy Rich Asians Constance Wu Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles and Her Return to Social Media
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.
Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 rom com directed by Jon M Chu. Picture: Instagram[/caption]
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.
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