Lesson learned? Constance Wu addressed her Twitter scandal surrounding the renewal of her ABC sitcom, Fresh Off the Boat, three months after the debacle.
“It was moving to me how many people from the show reached out to me, and even on set … to say, ‘Just so you know, we love you and we know who you are, and you didn’t deserve any of that stuff.’ Because they also know that I’m an actress — I can be dramatic,” the 37-year-old Crazy Rich Asians star told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published on Thursday, August 29. “I’m emotional. But they also know that that doesn’t represent me because they have a hundred episodes of behavior that proves otherwise.”
Wu went on to note her surprise that the ordeal made headlines. “I’m not beating myself up for it because I know me,” she said. “But I don’t think I realized that people were paying so much attention to my Twitter.”
The Hustlers star ultimately was grateful for the criticism, pointing out that “it improved my awareness of what it means to be a … public figure.” She admitted to having “a back and forth about it. It’s the line between being a role model, but also authenticity.”
Wu further attributed the backlash to the seemingly flawless nature of social media. “Nobody trips up,” she explained. “And sometimes I think, might it be good to see our heroes mess up a little bit and not always be perfect?”
The actress caused controversy in May when she reacted to Fresh Off the Boat’s season 6 pickup on Twitter. “So upset right now that I’m literally crying,” she tweeted at the time. “Ugh. F—k.” When a fan congratulated her on the “great news,” she replied: “No it’s not.”
Wu later deleted her tweets and clarified that her disappointment stemmed from a role she lost out on as a result of her continued commitment to the ABC series. In a lengthy apology, she wrote that she is “trying [her] best to use” her platform to push herself artistically. “People assumed that that meant I don’t love and enjoy FOTB,” she shared on Twitter. “But I do love and enjoy it. I hope you believe me.”
