Wicked star Marissa Bode slams ‘gross’ jokes about Nessarose’s disability
Marissa Bode has called out inappropriate comments about her Wicked character’s disability. (Marleen Moise/WireImage)
Wicked star Marissa Bode has slammed “gross” jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability, reminding viewers that their comments affect actual disabled people.
Bode portrays Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, in the film adaptation of the musical. The star has recently had to speak out on behalf of her disabled peers after onlookers attempted to use her disability as the punchline of inappropriate jokes.
“It is absolutely okay to not like a fictional character,” Bode said via a recent video on TikTok. But joking about disabilities, however, is not okay. “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,” she added.
Bode continued: “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.”
Although the character in the musical has always been written to be a wheelchair user, the sister of the main character Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has only been played once by an actual wheelchair user. Bode made history with this role.
The actress said that the unsolicited comments stretch “so far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to ignore comments on the internet” because of the very real possibility that other wheelchair users could be affected.
“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,” Bode explained.
“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.”
She concluded: “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.”
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