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“Fresh Off the Boat” alum Constance Wu claims in her forthcoming memoir that she was sexually harassed by senior of the production team on the now-defunct ABC sitcom.
According to the New York Times, the actress, 40, only refers to the staffer by an initial in “Making a Scene.”
Wu also alleges that during the show’s inaugural season in 2015, the man exhibited such controlling behaviors as “demanding that she run all her business matters past him and telling her what to wear,” per the Times.
“‘Fresh Off the Boat’ was my first-ever TV show,” Wu told the the publication. “I was thrown into this world. I don’t have parents in the industry. And because I was 30, people thought I knew what I was doing. It made me paranoid and embarrassed.”
The star — who played matriarch Jessica Huang on the show — says things took a physical turn when she and the producer attended a sporting event together. There, he allegedly “placed his hand on her thigh, his hand ultimately grazing her crotch,” the Times reports.
Wu claims that she asked him to stop and the two later swept the alleged incident under the rug.
During a panel at Friday’s Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C., Wu detailed her decision to speak out about the alleged misconduct.
“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. Because, after the first two seasons, once it was a success, once I was no longer scared of losing my job, that’s when I was able to start saying ‘no’ to the harassment, ‘no’ to the intimidation, from this particular producer,” she said, per Variety.
“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.’”
“Fresh Off the Boat” ended its six-season run in February 2020.
ABC did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment and declined to comment to NYT. When reached for comment, Wu’s rep did not address the allegation, but suggested we get the book.
Wu wrote her book during her extended hiatus from the public eye. She took a three-year break from social media after facing backlash for tweeting that she was “so upset” and “literally crying” over the 2019 renewal of “Fresh Off the Boat.”
She even attempted suicide before a friend stepped in to save her life.
“Luckily, a friend found me and rushed me to the ER. It was a scary moment that made me reassess a lot in my life,” the “Hustlers” star explained in a July Twitter post. “For the next few years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health. AsAms don’t talk about mental health enough.”
Wu added that her forthcoming memoir is “not always the most flattering portrayal” of herself. But it’s “as honest as I know how to be,” she noted.
“Because the truth is, I’m not poised or graceful or perfect. I’m emotional. I make mistakes…lots of ’em!” she concluded. “After a little break from Hollywood and a lot of therapy I feel OK enough to venture back on here (at least for a little bit). And even though I’m scared, I’ve decided that I owe it to the me-of-3-years-ago to be brave and share my story so that it might help someone with theirs.”
Wu previously stated that her negative reaction to the “FOTB” renewal came because it meant she had to “give up another project that I was really passionate about.” She further clarified the intention behind her tweet in an August 2019 interview with The Los Angeles Times, calling herself “dramatic.”
“Making a Scene” hits stores Oct. 4.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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