Constance Wu explains why she never publicly accused a 'Fresh Off the Boat' producer of harassment

• Constance Wu said she was sexually harassed by a "Fresh Off the Boat" producer.
• She said she kept quiet so as not to detract from the show's Asian American representation.

In an interview on Wednesday's episode of "Red Table Talk," Constance Wu said she was sexually harassed by a "Fresh Off the Boat" producer.

Wu received public backlash after tweeting in 2019 that she was displeased that ABC has opted to renew "Fresh Off the Boat" for a sixth season. She withdrew from the spotlight for three years following the controversy.

"It's funny 'cause people were basically canceling me for being ungrateful and ungraceful. And they were saying I didn't think about the other people's jobs on the show and how selfish that was and how I was behaving like a diva," the "Crazy Rich Asians" star said.

"What people didn't realize is that during my first couple years on 'Fresh Off the Boat,' I was sexually harassed and I was intimidated and I was threatened all the time," she told "Red Table Talk" hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and Willow Smith.

Wu wrote about the experiences in her memoir "Making a Scene," which was released on Tuesday. She said the producer, who she chose not to name, told her to wear short skirts while she still could.

Excerpts from her book that were read aloud on the show stated that he contacted her late at night and asked her to send him selfies. She said on one occasion, he rubbed her leg and attempted to touch her pelvic area.

Wu said she was afraid of appearing uncool by speaking out, and that she wanted to appear to be "part of the boys' club." Wu also said she hid her experiences because she did not want to tarnish the image of the producer.

"Because this show was sort of a beacon of representation for Asian Americans, and I sort of became a symbol of representation, I didn't want to sully the one show with sexual harassment claims against the one Asian American man who was doing all this better work for the community," she said during the conversation on "Red Table Talk."

"This producer, he is an Asian American, and the thing that was most painful was he was so derogatory and harassing towards me," she said on the show.

Wu said she revealed her experiences to others on set when it happened. "Nobody encouraged me to go to HR because they didn't want the show to be canceled," she said. She also discussed how it impacted her mental health.

Wu said the producer was respectful to women of other backgrounds but was inappropriate with her. She also said that other Asian actors told her they'd had similar experiences with the producer.

"I've since heard accounts from other Asian actresses who have been like, 'Oh yeah, me too!' It is an interesting phenomenon that makes you feel quite alone," she said.

Wu previously discussed how she felt about the "pretty traumatic experience" at The Atlantic Festival in September.

Representatives for ABC didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Representatives for Wu declined to comment when reached by Insider and pointed to Wu's new memoir "Making a Scene" where she speaks about the incident further.