It took three years for Constance Wu, an actress starring in the famous American series Fresh Off The Boats and the movie Crazy Rich Asians, to come back into the public eye after a Twitter conflict she was involved in.
By: Guanxi Lew
Back then, she tweeted, “So upset right now that I am literally crying. Ugh,” after the sixth series of Fresh Off The Boats was commissioned by the US TV network ABC. She faced a wave of Twitter backlash after denying that this was good news for her, and almost took her own life before going off social media for the next three years.
Actress Constance Wu is coming back to the public after three years since the Twitter backlash in 2019. (Picture courtesy of BBC)
As of this year, 58.4 percent of the world’s population uses social media, and almost all are regular commenters. It is funny how social media users, especially when encountering celebrities, like to comment on other people’s lives without thinking about the severe consequences. In Constance Wu’s case, attributing the continuation of a series that she has been tied to for four years as bad news was her career decision. Even if actions were to be taken toward her, it should have been from the film company which signed the contract with her, not from the social media users who are strangers. If you are genuinely a fan of her, you should be there to support her during her pivotal career-changing phase, not belittling her based on her choice to choose her path.
Many like to take to social media and urge others to boycott or debunk all relevant information about a person they dislike without considering the possible harm they may do to that person. Their subjective expression of negative feelings, in many times hatred, often leads to social media chaos and, worse, suicidal ideation or attempts of their targets. This is just not the purpose of the comment section being set up by social media operators.
Wu has a decent career and is likely to continue it, but to live up to the so-called “public expectation,” she has to apologize for a mistake she did not make and suffer from severe mental illnesses afterward. Please be mindful when you type in the comment section, as everyone posting on social media will likely be influenced by that one line you wrote. Commenting is a great feature to further public discourse and serves as an outlet to enhance freedom of expression, so do not abuse that. Social media was not created to forward your hate towards someone and invite others to follow in your path.
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