Marissa Bode, who plays Nessarose in the upcoming Wicked film adaptation, is speaking out against cruel jokes targeting her character’s disability.
In real life, Bode uses a wheelchair, and while she’s no stranger to the challenges of living with a disability, she’s had enough of the ableist comments.
Marissa Bode Shares Message After Being Harassed Over Her Disability
Taking to TikTok, Bode addressed the hurtful remarks she’s faced since joining the highly anticipated movie, starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. While she’s open to criticism of Nessarose’s personality or actions, Bode draws the line at jokes about her character’s disability.
“It’s totally fine not to like Nessa as a character—she’s fictional, after all,” Bode explained. “But the aggressive comments and jokes about her disability? That’s not okay, because disability is not fictional. At the end of the day, I’m still Marissa, a disabled person in a wheelchair.”
‘Wicked’ star Marissa Bode shares message after being harassed by viewers over her disability:
“It is absolutely okay to not like a fictional character…Jokes about Nessa’s disability itself is deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional.” pic.twitter.com/k0afUMnEPJ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 30, 2024
Bode shared that she’s heard every variation of tired, ableist jokes, from “stand up for yourself” to “guess you can’t hold up.” While some might think these quips are harmless, she explained how damaging they can be, especially to others in the disabled community.
“These jokes don’t exist in a vacuum,” Bode said. “They reflect a broader problem. Comments about pushing Nessa out of her wheelchair or saying she ‘deserves’ her disability are the same kind of hurtful rhetoric that real disabled people face every day.”
Marissa Bode is radiant in her silver heels at the Sydney premiere of ‘WICKED’ pic.twitter.com/b8ertQx5cm
— Wicked Updates 🧹 (@wicked_updates) November 3, 2024
Marissa also spoke about her fear of calling out this behavior, knowing the backlash disabled advocates often face online. “I’ve seen disabled creators get flooded with hateful comments just for speaking out against ableism,” she shared. “Some have had to take breaks from social media to protect their mental health. That’s not okay.”
i’m really gonna need all of you to leave marissa bode alone
— cassie (@glindauplands) November 28, 2024
Bode tied her message beautifully back to the themes of Wicked, which emphasizes something very important: empathy. “One of the major lessons of Wicked is learning to listen to each other,” she said. “I truly hope more people can practice that. Please be kind.”
Marissa Bode reflects on representation in #Wicked and the inspiration she may bring to others: “It means absolutely everything to me. …[There are] very few disabled people from where I’m from. So to…have people see me on stage, it means so much.” https://t.co/5eTUUcXbVu pic.twitter.com/l7I7p0O6yl
— Variety (@Variety) November 10, 2024
Despite the challenges, she remains thrilled about her Wicked debut. She even gushed about the excitement of filming scenes where Elphaba uses magic to levitate Nessarose’s chair. “I was supposed to look scared for the scene, but the second the camera cut, I was like, ‘Let’s do it again!’ It was so much fun.” What a queen! We love you, Marissa.
Resources for Bullying and Support for People with Disabilities: PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, StopBullying.gov, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), The Arc.
And National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (For Crisis Support) Dial: 988 (in the U.S.)
