Offering perspective. Fresh Off the Boat star Randall Park is finally speaking out on costar Constance Wu’s Twitter scandal after she negatively reacted to the renewal last month.
“I thought that last [season] would be our last one,” the Always Be My Maybe star, 45, explained during an episode of Variety’s “The Big Ticket” podcast on Thursday, June 13. “Literally, the season finale was a bookend to the pilot. So, I think, like, everyone kind of thought that and we weren’t sure if we’d keep going.”
Addressing the scandal, he quipped, “[Wu] certainly thought that. She was in for a surprise, and we all were. But it’s great. I mean … here’s a lot more stories to tell.”
The Crazy Rich Asians star, 37, caused a stir with her reaction to the news when she launched into an expletive-filled tirade on Twitter.
“So upset right now that I’m literally crying,” she wrote after the show’s renewal was announced on May 10. “Ugh. F–k.”
A subsequent tweet wasn’t much more optimistic, with Wu writing, “F–king hell.”
If her position wasn’t clear enough, the actress also commented “Dislike” on the show’s official Instagram page and responded to a fan who congratulated her on the “great news” by saying, “No it’s not.”
After backlash began to brew, Wu took to Twitter to clarify her statements. “That was not a rampage, it was just how I normally talk,” she hit back. “I say f–k a lot. I love the word. Y’all are making a lot of assumptions about what I was saying. And no, it’s not what it’s about. No it’s not … what this is all about. Stop assuming.”
She added: “I said I was upset and crying. I did not say it was over a tv show. You’re making an assumption.”
The Golden Globe nominee later made it clear she wasn’t making a dig at the show’s crew or cast. “Todays tweets were on the heels of rough day & were ill timed w/the news of the show,” she wrote. “Plz [sic] know, Im so grateful for FOTB [sic] renewal. I love the cast&crew. Im proud to be a part of it. For all the fans support, thank u [sic] & for all who support my casual use of the word f–k-thank u too.”
One day later, Wu doubled down on her love for the series with a lengthy explanation of her previous comments. “I was temporarily upset yesterday not because I hate the show but because its renewal meant I had to give up another project that I was really passionate about,” she tweeted. “So my dismayed social media projections were more about that other project and not about FOTB.”
Wu went on to say that though she thought FOTB was “fun,” “easy” and “pleasant,” she was ready to switch gears. “In general, I’ve always sought artistic challenge over comfort and ease. I was disappointed in not being able to do that other project — Because that other project would have challenged me as an artist — that other project would have been really hard and and not easy or pleasant at all.”
She concluded: “People can hold conflicting feelings in their hearts — that conflict is a part of being human. “
Park admitted on Thursday that he also made other plans if his gig as Louis Huang on FOTB fell through. “I was prepared for it to not get picked up, and I was excited by these other things I could do, but if it did get picked up, I was like, ‘Oh!’ That’s all I ever wanted,” he said. “All I ever wanted was … a regular job to work with great people.”
His initial reaction to the show’s renewal news couldn’t have been more different from Wu’s. “Thrilled, very happy,” he told Entertainment Tonight about the chance to play his character for a sixth season.
Fresh Off the Boat will return to ABC this fall.
