Constance Wu Opens up About ‘Fresh off the Boat’ Twitter Outburst, Blasts ‘Hustlers’ Diva Claims

After coming under fire this past May for a NSFW rant slamming the renewal of her ABC sitcom, Fresh off the Boat and apologizing shortly after for misconstrued communications, actress Constance Wu is opening up about the incident and recent claims of “diva” status on the set of her new movie, Hustlers.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Wu insists she didn’t mean to offend anyone over her tweets in May and was being “dramatic” simply because she couldn’t take up another project she was passionate about.

“In every project I choose, I want a character that gets to run the gamut of a full spectrum of an arc,” Wu said, adding that’s how she pushed to get cast in the Jennifer Lopez-starring drama, Hustlers. “Destiny has moments where she’s really funny, and moments when she’s really sad. Moments where she’s irresponsible, moments where she’s the only one who is responsible. That complexity is what I seek in any role, and this script really afforded her that journey.”

However, having to the return to the ABC comedy seemingly meant the 37-year-old actress had to give up another complex character, which was nothing like she had done before as she shares it was a play in which she would not be taking on an “Asian-specific” role.

“I had this moment of heat where I got upset because I had to give up a job I had been looking forward to and had been chasing for a while,” Wu said, describing the Twitter incident. “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.”

She adds that it’s part of “our toolkit,” sharing she’s “dramatic” and “emotional.”

“But they also know that that doesn’t represent me because they have a hundred episodes of behavior that proves otherwise,” she said.

Though she has apologized and moved on, Wu is still contracted for another two seasons of Fresh off the Boat and admits the fiasco was a learning experience as she didn’t realize the impact of her words.

“I’m not beating myself up for it, because I know me,” Wu said. “But I don’t think I realized that people were paying so much attention to my Twitter. I like that people are expressing their feelings about it, because it improved my awareness of what it means to be a … public figure…I’ve had a back and forth about it. It’s the line between being a role model, but also authenticity.”

While she is learning from her mistakes and admits she isn’t a perfect person, that doesn’t mean she’s difficult. This past July, reports surfaced that the actress was a “difficult diva” on set of Hustlers.

“A woman owning her power rather than being like, ‘Who, me?’ I think, is a threat to the patriarchy,” Wu said. “I know some people were like, ‘Constance demanded top billing.’ No, the script had me as the lead. But it’s a juicier story to say the other stuff.”

Wu goes on to say she is “grateful” for her entire career, but admits she will be more cautious about what she posts online.

“I want to be careful not to blow up my profile anymore. If it happens as a natural extension of me doing the thing that I think I am meant to do, which is to be an actor, then I welcome it and I’m grateful for it,” she said. “That’s not the part of myself I’m seeking to put energy into … but it teaches me.”

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