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Constance Wu Returns to Twitter After 2019 Backlash: ‘I Almost Lost My Life’

Constance Wu, wearing a silver gown, attends the
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WARNING: This post mentions suicide. Reader discretion is advised, and if you are in need of help, you are not alone. You can call 1-833-456-4566 toll free, or text 45645, to reach Crisis Service Canada. The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention also has a directory of support services online. If you are in need of mental health support, Wellness Together Canada is another good place to start. Or, for immediate crisis support, text WELLNESS to 741741.

Three years after taking a break from social media following backlash over tweets regarding the renewal of a series she was starring in at the time, Fresh Off the Boat, actress Constance Wu has returned to Twitter — and she’s opening up about the mental health issues she experienced at the time. 

Related: 21 celebrities talk about social media anxiety and why they quit the internet.

In a series of now-deleted tweets from 2019, Wu tweeted about her disappointment over Fresh Off the Boat being renewed for a sixth season (because it would mean having to give up another project), writing that she was “so upset right now I’m literally crying. Ugh. F***.” 

While Wu defended the tweets in 2019  — “I had this moment of heat where I got upset because I had to give up a job I had been looking forward to and had been chasing for a while,” Wu told the Los Angeles Times — she now explains that the impact of the situation was much more serious than she expressed publicly at the time.

See also: Why the bamboo ceiling is a real thing and how it hurts all POC.

As NBC News reports, Wu posted a statement to Twitter on Thursday in which she announced her return to social media, her upcoming book, Making a Scene, and spoke about the backlash (both from the internet and within the Asian American community) and her subsequent attempt to die by 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,” Wu wrote in the statement. 

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“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.” 

In her statement, Wu expressed that, “Luckily, a friend found me and rushed me to the ER.” She also noted that, “Looking back, it’s surreal that a few DMs convinced me to end my own life.”

You may also like: We need to acknowledge BIPOC mental health during times of crisis.

As Wu wrote, she has spent the past few years focusing on her mental health, adding that talking about mental health is sometimes lacking within the Asian American community.

“AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough. While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community,” Wu wrote, later adding:

“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. And we need to stop beating each other (and ourselves) up when we do.”

Note: If you are in need of help, you are not alone. You can call 1-833-456-4566 toll free, or text 45645, to reach Crisis Service Canada. The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention also has a directory of support services online. If you are in need of mental health support, Wellness Together Canada is another good place to start. Or, for immediate crisis support, text WELLNESS to 741741.

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