Constance Wu is opening up about her time on “Fresh Off the Boat” from 2015 to 2020, alleging she was sexually harassed and bullied by an unnamed ABC comedy producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I kept my mouth shut for a very long time about a lot of sexual harassment and bullying that I experienced during the first two seasons of the show,” Wu, 40, told the show. of Friday. Atlantic Party in Washington DC, according to the publication. “Because after the first two seasons, once it was successful, once I wasn’t afraid of losing my job, that’s when I was able to start saying ‘no’ to the harassment, ‘no’ to bullying, from there particular producer. And, then I thought, ‘You know what? I managed it. No one must know. I don’t have to tarnish the reputation of this American producer of Asian origin. I don’t have to tarnish the reputation of the series. ” “
Wu – who played family matriarch Huang Jessica on the show – called the experience “traumatic”, adding: “I finally realized it was important to talk about it because I had a traumatic experience my first two years on this show and no one knew because this show was historic for Asian Americans It was the only network television show in over 20 years to feature Asian Americans. Asian background and I didn’t want to tarnish the reputation of the only show we had to represent us.
“Fresh Off the Boat” made history as the longest-running sitcom about Asian Americans on television before ending with its sixth season in 2020. When the season six renewal of the show was first announced in 2019, Wu received backlash for the tweets she shared in response to the news. In a now-deleted tweet, Wu wrote, “So upset right now I’m literally crying. Ugh. Damn.” And when a fan congratulated Wu on the “good news” on Twitter, she replied, “No it’s not,” followed by “F*cking hell.”
Wu also addressed the backlash at the Atlantic Festival. According to THR, she said, “I wanted to have a new slate where I didn’t have to start a show with all these memories of abuse. A few people knew [the harassment] was going on, and going to work every day and seeing these people who knew he was sexually harassing me, being ‘friends’ with him was like a betrayal every time.” Wu added, “I loved everything the world on this team, and I loved working on this show, but it had this history of abuse, which it started with, and even though I managed it after two years, I was looking forward to a table shave.”
When contacted for comment, Wu’s reps directed POPSUGAR to his upcoming memoir. POPSUGAR has yet to review the memoir, “Making a Scene,” released on October 5. Wu also addressed the alleged sexual harassment in a profile with The New York Times published last week.
If you or someone you know would like to speak to someone who is trained to help victims of sexual assault, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
