Constance Wu Breaks Down In Tears While Detailing How the Asian Community “Turned Against” Her on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’: They “Really Wanted to Shame Me”

Constance Wu dropped by today’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where she spoke candidly about the poor reaction she received from the Asian American community following the tweets she made about Fresh Off The Boat’s renewal in 2019.
While promoting her new memoir, Making a Scene, Wu, who starred in Fresh Off The Boat from 2015 to 2020, said she had “reached a boiling point and behaved out of character” when she posted tweets that she was “upset” about the show being renewed for a sixth season. The actress admitted she had “suppressed a lot of abuse I had suffered over the years on that show in an attempt to sort of preserve its reputation because it was a shining beacon of representation for Asian Americans.”
She added, “When this happened it felt like my whole community turned against me — like the Asian American community — and really wanted to shame me.”

The Hustlers star even revealed that one of her former Asian colleagues, who is also an actress, messaged her, calling her a “disgrace and a blight on the community.” Wu also claims the actress essentially said “it would be better if I just didn’t exist.” While opening up about the way her community turned on her and her attempted suicide as a result, Wu broke down in tears.

“I thought I could handle it but it really made me reevaluate everything I had been holding back for all those years in service of helping the Asian American community,” she said.
The actress told Barrymore that it made her realize that the “Asian American community needs to own up to its history of sexism, misogyny, and patriarchal values,” adding that “all we talk about is positive representation which is an illusion.” According to Wu, “Nobody is all positive, we need whole humans.”
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays at 9:30 a.m. ET on CBS.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day at 988.