Constance Wu has frankly discussed claims she was sexually harassed on the Fresh Off The Boat set in a string of new public appearances.
Not only does Wu lay out the accusations in Making a Scene, her new memoir, but she also addressed them in a new panel discussion and recent article.
Wu claims a producer - who she only refers to as ‘M’ - subjected her to coercive behaviour and even recounted a time she was allegedly touched inappropriately by him while filming the ABC show.
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Speaking on Friday (23 September) at the Atlantic Festival, Wu said: "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.”
She continued: “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'."
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Echoing her allegations when speaking to the New York Times for a profile, Wu explained that initially, she didn’t want to touch upon her experience when writing her book, but was encouraged to do so by her publisher.
Writing in a chapter called You Do What I Say, Wu detailed a pattern of harassment and intimidation that she claims she experienced at the hands of M, which included his insistence she sign with his suggested agent and him telling Wu to keep him in the loop on all her business matters.
Eventually, Wu claims M started commenting on the way she looked and kept tabs on what parties she attended and who she hung out with.
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Eventually, Wu alleges an incident of physical harassment occurred when she went to a baseball game with M.
According to Wu, M put his hand on her thigh and grazed her crotch.
"Aside from that basketball game, he never touched me inappropriately," she 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.
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“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."
In her book, Wu explained that once she became more empowered, her and M’s relationship turned sour and she eventually told certain cast and crew members on Fresh Off The Boat about his advances.
UNILAD has approached ABC for comment.
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Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Aisha Nozari