‘A Lot of It Was Fear-driven,’ Says Constance Wu of Her $40,000 Credit Card Debt in Her Twenties.

Costance Wu disclosed that she racked up $40,000 (£36,000) in credit card debt when she was in her twenties.

The Crazy Rich Asians actress spoke with Meghan Markle on the latest episode of the Duchess of Sussex’s podcast, Archetypes.

When Meghan asked Wu, age 40, how she was in her twenties, Wu responded, “Oh my God. I mean, messy… broke. I had nearly $40,000 in credit card debt alone.

She explained: “That doesn’t even cover student loan debt. And I wasn’t even concerned. I was really frivolous with my spending. In addition, I partied a lot. I drank a much. I was promiscuous and used drugs.

“I did all these crazy things thinking, ‘Oh, I’m so free, this is so enjoyable.'” But a lot of it was motivated by fear. I was just trying to avoid something.”

When Meghan inquired as to what Wu was attempting to avoid, Wu replied, “I suppose, I mean, you were an actress and um…” “Mm-hm,” Meghan replied. Previous existence. Yeah.”

“I’d been an actor since I was a youngster,” Wu continued. And I wanted it so badly, and I was continuously being rejected and expressing that it hurts when you’re rejected – confessing that it got to you is actually worse than the rejection itself.

“And so, when you’re like, ‘I don’t give a fuck,’ I think you’re right. I’m just going to drink whatever I want. I’m a wild party girl,’ it’s a way of saying, ‘Oh yes, they can’t hurt me,’ when you’re genuinely upset. And I’m terrified that I won’t make it, like, in this thing.”

In another part of the 55-minute interview, Wu talked about how she dealt with the backlash she got in 2019 when she tweeted that she was “crying” after her show Fresh Off the Boat was renewed.

“Three years ago, my TV show was renewed, and I had a pretty careless moment where I was alone, angry, and feeling emotional. I had been holding back a lot of feelings for about six years while working on that show, and I let all of them out all at once.

“Because, even though I loved being on that show and liked almost everyone on it, people don’t know that the first year I was being sexually harassed and threatened by one of the producers. I think that my outburst on Twitter three years ago over the show’s renewal seemed so out of character because it was the result of years of trying to hide abuse I had received from a producer.”

If you have been sexually assaulted, you can call the Rape Crisis national freephone helpline at 0808 802 9999 between 12 and 2.30 pm and 7 and 9.30 pm every day of the year. The helpline is open from 12 to 2.30 pm and 7 to 9.30 pm.