Constance Wu ‘Disappointed’ in Andrew Barth Feldman Over ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Run

Constance Wu is publicly calling out Andrew Barth Feldman over the controversy regarding his casting in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending.

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, Wu, 43, shared on Instagram that she and Feldman recently spoke in what she described as “an in-depth phone call about Asian American representation and erasure in theater.”

“It was a peaceful call and we spoke at length, followed up by several emails/texts. It made me hopeful. But after a recent voice memo he sent me, all I can say is that I am so disappointed in him,” Wu wrote. “And feeling pretty discouraged.”

Feldman, 23, joined the cast of the South Korean-set musical for a limited nine-week run in the production’s lead role opposite his real-life girlfriend Helen J Shen beginning Sept. 2. The actor’s casting, which was announced back in July, has been met with criticism from members of the Asian-American community, who have argued that Maybe Happy Ending‘s cast is intended to be made up of actors of Asian descent. (Feldman took over the role from Darren Criss, whose took a hiatus from the show was on Aug. 31. Criss, who is Filipino- American, is returning to the musical on Nov. 5.)

“It’s hard to keep speaking up when it feels like no one is listening anymore in this new era. It’s exhausting and increasingly lonely,” Wu added in her Instagram post regarding the controversy. “Once again, Asian Americans are left unheard, unacknowledged, invisible. Sadly, we’re used to this. A dozen or so folks bts at @maybehappyending have remained silent perhaps in the hopes that this will all fade away and you know what? It has. Your plan is working, guys – I heard your box office doing great.”

Representatives for Feldman and the producers behind Maybe Happy Ending did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Maybe Happy Ending authors Hue Park and Will Aronson previously responded to the controversy in a separate statement, saying they were “extremely saddened that the show, a decade-long labor of love for us, could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain.”

“We wrote a show about robots so we could engage more intimately with the most basic human questions of love and loss, creating the roles of Oliver and Claire to be avatars of these universal questions,” they wrote on Instagram. “They were meant to be products created by a global company, and so never bore Korean names, even in the Korean version of the show. At the same time, we understand that for many in the AAPI community, the makeup of our opening night cast became a meaningful and rare point of visibility. We’ve heard how strongly people connected to that representation, even if it wasn’t our original intent, and how this casting decision has re-opened old wounds.”

In the caption to Wu’s post, the Crazy Rich Asians star referenced a petition and essay shared on Instagram by actor B.D. Wong on Aug. 10. Wong, 64, wrote at the time that Maybe Happy Ending‘s decision to cast Feldman for the limited run instead of an actor of Asian descent is “taken as a hard slap in the face of both the Asian actor community and the Asian audience.” As of Aug. 10, Wong, 64, had collected more than 2,400 names of people who supported his essay, which he specified “makes no demands [and is] as detailed articulation of our POV.”

“I’m sorry to the thousands of people on @wongbd’s petition whose signatures he and the producers have yet to publicly acknowledge,” Wu added in her Instagram post on Sept. 17. “And honestly, I’m sorry ABF that you’ve been (perhaps unfairly) saddled with this responsibility by your producers. But sometimes we don’t choose our responsibilities, they choose us. So the question that remains is: what are you choosing to do with it?” 

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Maybe Happy Ending follows two robots in Seoul, South Korea who meet in an apartment and spark an unexpected romance. The musical was created by American composer Will Aronson and South Korean lyricist and writer Hue Park; it received 10 Tony Award nominations and won six total awards, including Best Musical, back in June. 

“We fell in love with Andrew’s take on the role of Oliver when he appeared as the reader in Helen J Shen’s initial audition tape,” Aronson and Park said in a joint statement regarding Feldman’s casting on July 24. When Feldman announced his casting on Instagram, the actor expressed excitement to act alongside his girlfriend Shen, 25, and wrote that he was “stunned” by the production’s “faith in me” to take over the lead role. 

Feldman’s limited run in Maybe Happy Ending lasts through Nov. 1.