Fans have just realised another Wicked star is in a queer relationship: ‘Everyone’s gay on set’
Wicked actress Marissa Bode (left) with her partner, Lauren Brooks. (Getty/Instagram/@Marissa_edob)
Wicked fans are just learning that another of the film’s stars, Marissa Bode, is in a queer relationship.
Over the weekend, as Jon M Chu’s critically acclaimed musical adaptation continued to dominate box offices globally, viewers turned their attention to Bode.
The actress plays Shiz University student Nessarose, who is Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) sister. Wicked is Bode’s feature film debut and she’s the first wheelchair user to play the disabled character.
With the spotlight on the star, fans have scoured Bode’s social media and discovered that she has been in a relationship with writer Lauren Brooks since last year. The pair frequently share Instagram photos of themselves together, with the latter recently writing: “Most magical night with my love and friends at Wicked premiere in LA. I am so so so proud of Marissa and all the cast.”
She included a series of photos, including one of the couple looking into each other’s eyes.
In October, Bode shared a photo of the pair together, wearing outfits inspired by Chappell Roan’s “Casual” music video, with Brooks clasping her cheek in her hand. She captioned the images with a Roan lyric too, writing: “Is it casual now? (It definitely isn’t).”
Four months earlier, Brooks posted photos of herself and Bode locking lips at Los Angeles Pride, in front of religious protestors.
And in February, Brooks posted a photo of Bode smiling, writing: “Happy Valentine’s Day to my love, the most beautiful girl to ever roll this Earth.”
Queer Wicked lovers rejoiced at realising that another cast member from the movie was part of the LGBTQ+ community, in addition to Cynthia Erivo: Fiyero actor Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James.
After one social media user shared a photo of Bode and Brooks together, another asked: “Is there one straight person in this film?”
A second joked: “Everybody (is) gay as hell on set,” while a third wrote: “I love that everyone is gay.”
i love that everyone is gay https://t.co/5mcxClzyST
— matt (@mattxiv) December 1, 2024
On Friday, Marissa Bode was forced to address “deeply uncomfortable” comments made by some audience members, relating to her own and her character’s disability.
The actress said in a TikTok video that while she enjoyed “silly, goofy, harmless” jokes, she had to take a stand against film-goers making “aggressive comments and jokes about Nessa’s disability itself”, adding: “It’s deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional.” She claimed that some Wicked fans were using the fact they didn’t like Nessarose’s character to attack disability.
“At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person [who] is still disabled and in a wheelchair. So, it is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking,” she said.
Wicked is in cinemas now.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
How did this story make you feel?
