‘Wicked’ star Marissa Bode condemns “gross and harmful comments” made about her character’s disability
Wicked star Marissa Bode has said that the reaction to her disabled character online has been “gross and harmful”.
Bode, who uses a wheelchair in real life and in the film, took to TikTok on Friday (November 29) to address hate directed at her character Nessarose. She said that while it was “absolutely OK to not like a fictional character,” the comments had been deeply hurtful.
“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,” she said.
“‘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.”
@marissa_edob Representation is important but that’s not the only thing that will save the disabled community. I need a lot of y’all (non-disabled people) to do the work. To dissect and unlearn your own ableism. Listen to disabled people. Follow other disabled people outside of just me. Read up on the disability rights movement/watch the documentary Crip Camp! I understand no one likes feeling like they’re being scolded. But true progress never comes with comfort. And that’s ok. #wicked #nessa
She went on to say that she is a “deeply unserious person” and doesn’t mind the “silly, goofy, harmless” jokes about Nessarose’s personality – but that the “aggressive” comments about her character’s disability were “deeply uncomfortable.”
“Disability is not fictional,” she said. “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.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Bode, who is the first wheelchair user in Wicked history to play Nessarose, added: “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 continued to encourage viewers making jokes to “listen to the people or to the person that it is affecting and how it makes them feel”. She also shared concerns that “a younger version of myself is somewhere on the internet and is harmed by these comments”.
To conclude the video, Bode said: “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.”
It comes after the film’s director said that the film’s upcoming sequel is “eight times more relevant” because of where we are “in society right now”. Wicked Part Two is now slated for a cinema release on November 21 2025, and you can check out everything we know about it so far, here.
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Poppy Burton
NME
