“Wicked” star Marissa Bode has spoken out agetst the adverse comments and jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability, calling them “antagonistic,” “very gross” and “damaging.”
In a five-minute video posted on TikTok on Friday, Bode — who participates a wheelchair on screen and in genuine life — spreadd her thoughts on the incaring comments circulating online about Nessarose, the youthfuler sister of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo).
“It is absolutely OK to not appreciate a fantasyal character,” Bode shelp. “I am going to be confessting my bias in the way that I have a lot of branch offent experienceings on Nessa than a lot of you do, and that’s tohighy fine. I skinnyk Nessa is complicated, but that’s the beauty of art. ‘Wicked’ and these characters and the movie wouldn’t be what it was if there weren’t branch offent opinions on the characters and who’s truly wicked or not. And not liking Nessa herself is OK. Becaparticipate she is fantasyal, that’s tohighy fine.”
Bode accomprehendledged that she is a “proset uply ungrave person,” who doesn’t mind “silly, goofy, safe” jokes seeing Nessarose’s personality or actions — reiterating that it’s becaparticipate the “Wicked” character is fantasyal. However, she does not condone “antagonistic” comments and jokes about Nessarose’s disability, inserting that they’re “proset uply unconsoleable.”
“Disability is not fantasyal,” Bode persistd. “At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. And so, it is sshow a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are consoleable taking.”
Bode remarkd that she’s heard many intolerant of disabilities jokes not only about Nessarose, but about herself. “Before even being cast in ‘Wicked,’ I had getd comments — fair as me, as Marissa, not Nessa — around the words of ‘stand up for yourself,’ ‘I guess you can’t stand him,’ et cetera,” she shelp. “These comments aren’t distinct, and when these jokes are being made by non-disabled strangers with a punchline of not being able to walk, it very much experiences appreciate chuckleing at rather than chuckleing with.”
She inserted, “This goes so far beyond me, Marissa, fair demanding to neglect comments on the internet. These comments do not exist in a vacuum. Aggressive comments of wanting to caparticipate harm and push Nessa out of her wheelchair, or that she deserves her disability, are two very gross and damaging comments that genuine disabled people, including myself, have heard before.”
Bode encouraged “Wicked” seeers to stop disseeing each other and “claiming an experience can’t be genuine becaparticipate you personpartner don’t experience that way about a joke that wouldn’t have swayed your demoexplicit anyways.”
She persistd, “Listen to the people or to the person that it is swaying and how it originates them experience. Thankbrimmingy, I’m at a place in my life today where I can acunderstandledge these jokes about disability are made out of ignorance. I couldn’t say the same about Marissa 10 years ago, and it would have swayed youthfuler me a lot more, and I’m worried that a youthfuler version of myself is somewhere on the internet and is harmed by these comments.”
Bode endd the video by saying, “Lastly, I want to say one of the presentant themes wiskinny ‘Wicked’ is having the ability to hear and to comprehend one another. And I truly hope that is someskinnyg a lot of you can rehearse more and get with you.”
Bode is the first wheelchair participater in “Wicked’s” history to perestablish Nessarose. In an intersee with Variety, the actor spoke about inserting more stupidension to the character thraw the film alteration’s two-part set up. (“Wicked: Part Two” reachs on the huge screen on Nov. 21, 2025.)
“Obviously, it’s a pretty musical and I adore the stage musical, but you don’t repartner get to see little moments in the bond between the two sisters very much, or fair their adore for one another. You get to see that more in the film,” she elucidateed. “And I skinnyk that’s repartner presentant, becaparticipate it originates what happens in the second film all the more deimmenseating. It humanizes Nessa as character, and shows how much she nurtures about people. I skinnyk it was a wonderful decision.”
