2022. 9. 25. 11:02ㆍ■ 법률 사회/性범죄·Me Too
Constance Wu Opens Up About ‘Traumatic’ Sexual Harassment She Experienced While Working On ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ (msn.com)
Constance Wu Opens Up About ‘Traumatic’ Sexual Harassment She Experienced While Working On ‘Fresh Off The Boat’
In a candid interview, Constance Wu opened up about facing “sexual harassment and intimidation” during her time on “Fresh Off the Boat”, which she starred in from 2015 to 2020. At the time, Wu did not come forward with her allegations against one o
www.msn.com
Constance Wu Opens Up About ‘Traumatic’ Sexual Harassment She Experienced While Working On ‘Fresh Off The Boat’
In a candid interview, Constance Wu opened up about facing "sexual harassment and intimidation" during her time on "Fresh Off the Boat", which she starred in from 2015 to 2020.
At the time, Wu did not come forward with her allegations against one of the show's senior producers because she wanted to protect the ABC sitcom and the impact it had on the Asian American community.
Now, while speaking with The Atlantic to promote her memoir Making a Scene, which details a past situation with the producer, Wu, 40, recalls the fear she faced over the unknown consequences, had she chosen to then speak up.
"My publisher really encouraged me to write [about] it ... I was like, 'No I'm done with that chapter in my life,'" the actress said during the interview on Friday. "And then I eventually realized it was important to talk about because I did have a pretty traumatic experience and nobody knew about it because that show was historic for Asian Americans.
"It was the only show on network television in over 20 years to star Asian Americans, and I did not want to sully the reputation of the one show we had representing us," Wu explained. "I kept my mouth shut for a really long time about a lot of sexual harassment and intimidation that I received the first two seasons of the show."
I had a pretty traumatic experience my first couple of years on 'Fresh Off the Boat,' @ConstanceWu says at #TAF22. “That show was historic for Asian Americans … and I did not want to sully the reputation of the one show we had representing us. So I kept my mouth shut.” pic.twitter.com/fR4KJyYoKm
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 23, 2022
After the first two seasons, "Fresh Off the Boat" became a "success" and Wu was "no longer scared of losing [her] job."
"That's when I was able to start saying 'no' to the harassment, 'no' to the intimidation, from this particular producer," she continued. "And, so I thought, 'You know what? I handled it, nobody has to know, I don't have to stain this Asian American producer's reputation, I don't have to stain the reputation of the show'."
Elsewhere during the onstage interview, Wu addressed her "profane" and "reckless" 2019 tweet, which saw her publicly reveal that she was "so upset" and "literally crying" over the show's season 6 renewal. Ultimately, the "Crazy Rich Asians" star sparked controversy, which led to her nearly three-year absence from social media and an attempted suicide.
“I wanted to have a fresh slate where I didn’t have to start a show with all these memories of abuse,” she told The Atlantic's reporter. “A few people knew [the harassment] was happening, and to go to work every day and see those people who knew that he was sexually harassing me being ‘buddy-buddy’ with him felt like a betrayal every time.
“I loved everybody on that crew, and I loved working on that show, but it had that history of abuse, that it started with, and even though I handled it after two years, I was looking forward to a clean slate," she added.
In Wu's memoir, she describes the producer's behaviour as "controlling." She recalls a 2015 incident where the producer, whom she refers to by an initial, "touched her thigh and grazed her crotch," she previously told The New York Times about her book.
Making a Scene comes out on Oct. 4.