Constance Wu opened up about the regular sexual harassment she faced on the set of a comedy series. Speaking to ABC News’ Juju Chang, the actress said that she was “scared” of losing her job on Fresh Off the Boat if she reported the incidents.

Speaking on Good Morning America, she said: “I was scared of losing my job, and compared to the other stories of the harassment I endured, it ‘wasn’t that bad.’ In fact, to be honest, what I went through was pretty common.”

The Crazy Rich Asians star said her alleged abuser was Asian American. He was “such a good proponent for Asian American issues” that she didn’t “want to bring him down,” she added.

Also Read | Constance Wu claims ‘sexual harassment’ on set of Fresh Off the Boat set

Who is Constance Wu?

American actress Constance Wu was named on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, her parents emigrated from Taiwan. Her father, Fang-Sheng Wu, is a biology and genetics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and her mother is a computer programmer. 

The 40-year-old graduated from Douglas S. Freeman High School, in Henrico County, Virginia. She participated in a six-month program during high school at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She later graduated from State University of New York at Purchase’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2005.

Wu said that Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee is her influence. After college, Wu studied psycholinguistics and considered pursuing a graduate degree in speech pathology at Columbia University. She later decided to start her career in acting and moved to Los Angeles.

She made her screen debut with a supporting role in Stephanie Daley (2006). She later had supporting roles in Year of the Fish and The Architect. On television, she appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Torchwood, and Covert Affairs. She also had a recurring role as Laudine Lee on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live in 2007.

Also Read | Billionaire Ray Dalio steps down as Co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates

From 2012 to 2017, Wu starred in the web series EastSiders. She won two Indie Series Awards, both for Best Ensemble – Drama in 2014 and 2016. She was also nominated for two Indie Series Awards, one for Best Supporting Actress – Drama and the other for Best Guest Actress – Drama in those same years.

Wu won the lead role in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat alongside Randall Park in 2014. The series premiered in 2015, and Wu received critical acclaim for her performance. E! named her a breakout star of the 2014-15 television season.

She received four nominations for The Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and two Television Critics Association TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.

She was further lauded for her role as Rachel Chu in the romantic comedy-drama film Crazy Rich Asians (2018) for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, among others.

She later starred in the crime drama film Hustlers (2019). And the film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022).

In December 2011, Wu met actor Ben Hethcoat, whom she dated until February 2018. The same year, she spoke out about online harassment and criticism she had received for dating Hethcoat, who is a white man.

In August 2020, Wu gave birth to her first child, a girl, with her boyfriend Ryan Kattner, frontman of the band Man Man.