Wicked Star Marissa Bode SLAMS ‘Gross & Harmful’ Jokes About Her Disability

Marissa Bode is calling out the “aggressive” comments aimed at her disability.

If you haven’t seen Wicked yet, the 24-year-old plays Nessarose — the younger sister of Elphaba. But what’s really Wicked about the film’s release isn’t the fictional Wicked Witch of the West, but rather the very real bullying Marissa has been on the receiving end of because of her disability.

In a lengthy TikTok posted on Friday, the young actress opened up about the hateful comments she’s been seeing aimed towards her character Nessarose online — and specifically her disability. Marissa explained:

“There’s something that’s made me uncomfortable, and as somebody who’s disabled with the platform, I just wanted to talk about it really quick … It is absolutely okay 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 and Wicked — 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 okay because she is fictional. That’s totally fine.”

However, she draws the line at “jokes” made at the expense of her disability — which unlike her fictional character, is something she lives with after the cameras stop rolling:

“Aggressive comments and jokes about Nessa’s disability itself [are] deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional. At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. It is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking.”

She noted that many of the jokes she’s seen online aren’t “original” and in fact are ones she’s been hearing since long before being cast in the musical blockbuster:

“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.”

That’s so messed up. Marissa added:

“The most frustrating part of all of this is how scared I am to even post [or] talk about this … 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.”

Absolutely awful! She shouldn’t have to, but we’re glad to see Marissa speaking up against the hate.

She continued:

“Listen to the people or to the person that [the comment] is affecting and how it makes them feel. Thankfully, I am 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.”

In her caption, Marissa noted:

“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.”

You can view her full TikTok (below):

@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 ????????

♬ original sound – Marissa

So well said.

[Images via Marissa Bode/TikTok & Universal Pictures/YouTube]