Marissa Bode, a star of “Wicked,” has spoken about the negative remarks and jokes concerning her character Nessarose’s disability. She called these comments “aggressive,” “very gross,” and “harmful.”
In a TikTok video posted on Friday, Bode, who uses a wheelchair both on screen and in real life, shared her feelings about the hurtful online comments regarding Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister (played by Cynthia Erivo).
It is absolutely OK to not like a fictional character. I am going to be admitting my bias in the way that I have a lot of different feelings on Nessa than a lot of you do, and that’s totally fine. I think Nessa is complex, but that’s the beauty of art. ‘Wicked’ and these characters and the movie wouldn’t be what it was if there weren’t different opinions on the characters and who’s truly wicked or not. And not liking Nessa herself is OK. Because she is fictional, that’s totally fine.
Bode saidAdvertisement
Bode said she is a “deeply unserious person” who is okay with “silly, goofy, harmless” jokes about Nessarose’s personality or what she does because the “Wicked” character isn’t real.
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But she made it clear that she does not approve of “aggressive” jokes or comments about Nessarose’s disability, saying they are “deeply uncomfortable.”
Disability is not fictional. At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. And so, it is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking.
Bode continued
Bode shared that she has heard many hurtful jokes about people with disabilities, not just about Nessarose but also about herself.
Before even being cast in ‘Wicked,’ I had received comments — just as me, as Marissa, not Nessa — around the words of ‘stand up for yourself,’ ‘I guess you can’t stand him,’ et cetera. These comments aren’t original, and when these jokes are being made by non-disabled strangers with a punchline of not being able to walk, it very much feels like laughing at rather than laughing with. This goes so far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to ignore comments on the internet. These comments do not exist in a vacuum. Aggressive comments of wanting to cause harm and push Nessa out of her wheelchair, or that she deserves her disability, are two very gross and harmful comments that real disabled people, including myself, have heard before.
She said
Claiming an experience can’t be true because you personally don’t feel that way about a joke that wouldn’t have affected your demographic anyways. Listen to the people or to the person that it is affecting and how it makes them feel. Thankfully, I’m at a place in my life today where I can recognize these jokes about disability are made out of ignorance. I couldn’t say the same about Marissa 10 years ago, and it would have affected younger me a lot more, and I’m worried that a younger version of myself is somewhere on the internet and is harmed by these comments.
Bode urged “Wicked” viewers to stop dismissing each other
The later on Bobe concludes the video by saying:
Lastly, I want to say one of the major themes within ‘Wicked’ is having the ability to listen and to understand one another. And I truly hope that is something a lot of you can practice more and take with you.
Bode is the first wheelchair user to play Nessarose in “Wicked.” In an interview with Variety, she talked about how the two-part structure of the movie version helps make the character more interesting.
Also Read: Box Office: ‘Wicked’ Makes Huge $19.2 Million in Previews, ‘Gladiator II’ Has $6.5 Million
(“Wicked: Part Two” will be in theaters on Nov. 21, 2025.)
Obviously, it’s a beautiful musical and I love the stage musical, but you don’t really get to see little moments in the bond between the two sisters very much, or just their love for one another. You get to see that more in the film. And I think that’s really important, because it makes what happens in the second film all the more devastating. It humanizes Nessa as character, and shows how much she cares about people. I think it was a great decision.
she explained
Source: Variety