"Nobody knew about it." Constance Wu on what happened behind-the-scenes of Fresh Off The Boat.

Constance Wu is a powerhouse. 

After finding fame in the hit comedy, Fresh Off the Boat, for six seasons, she landed the leading role in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians. The film was a blockbuster and, just like Fresh Off the Boat, a first of its kind with its emphasis on Asian culture.

Wu's 2019 film, Hustlers, which she starred in alongside Jennifer Lopez as NYC strippers embroiled in a drugging scandal, was also a hit.

Yet, as she detailed in her memoir Making a Scene, there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Wu admitted that for the first two seasons of Fresh Off the Boat, one of the sitcom's senior producers sexually harassed and intimidated her.

During a panel discussion presented by The Atlantic, the actor said she didn't come forward because she was "scared" of losing her starring role.

"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," Wu said.

"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. 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.'"

Watch: Constance Wu says she was sexually harassed by a Fresh Off the Boat producer during The 2022 Atlantic Festival. Story continues after video. 

In a chapter titled 'You Do What I say' in her memoir, Wu detailed a pattern of harassment and intimidation allegedly carried out by 'M-' (the actor has chosen not to share the name of the producer).

Describing being a newcomer to the television industry at that time, Wu said she didn't realise just how inappropriate their interactions were with each other. She went on to allege that the producer exercised total control over her career using the refrain, "you do what I say."

She said the producer's abuse of power led to her signing with his suggested agent and to him intervening in her career and insisting to be kept informed of her business matters. Eventually, the business interference turned into commentary on Wu's physical appearance. 

The actor alleged he often made comments about her style of haircut and what she wore. Wu said he even kept tabs on her auditions, the publicist she worked with, the parties she attended, and the friends she kept. 

She said that despite making offensive comments or jokes at her expense, she often played them off.

Wu then alleged the harassment then became physical during a sporting event they had attended together, due to the producer's insistence, in 2015. She claimed he placed his hand on her thigh and grazed her crotch over her shorts before she fended his advances off. 

She said that this was a one-time occurrence.

"Aside from that basketball game, he never touched me inappropriately," Wu wrote. "To be honest, it didn't feel like a big deal at the time. I was fine. Happy, even! I was genuinely grateful for his support, and it made him feel good to protect me, too. 

"It was a win-win situation where he was the helpful to my helpless. But to maintain that dynamic he needed me to be helpless. And for a while... I was."

Wu said their relationship took a turn after she refused to attend a film festival. She added that she felt isolated after cast and crew continued to interact with the producer despite detailing her experiences.

In the same chapter, Wu apologised for her emotional tweets about the then new season of Fresh Off the Boat, where she expressed dismay there would be another year of the show, rather than it being cancelled. At the time, people accused her of being "ungrateful" and "selfish". The intense backlash to her tweets ultimately left her suicidal.

"When I spoke beautifully about representation, everyone loved it. But the second they had a chance to find a crack in my facade..." Wu explained to The Times. 

"It's funny. It was almost gleeful. It was almost like they couldn't wait to tear me down. I think the Asian community in Hollywood is still hyper-focused on positive representation, which to me is an illusion.

"Whole, human representation is more complex. And I think it's interesting to me how, at that time, when I most could have used their help, they were the people who shamed me."

Feature Image: Getty.

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