Wicked star Marissa Bode has slammed those making negative remarks and jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability, calling them “aggressive,” “very gross” and “harmful.”
Following the film’s release, millions of fans have celebrated its success at the box office. Many people have taken in the movie’s deep nuances and characters’ stories, but others have chosen to bully characters they dislike.
On Friday, Bode, the first person who uses a wheelchair to portray the character in Wicked‘s history, talked about the insensitive comments about Nessarose on TikTok.
@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
“It is absolutely OK to not like a fictional character,” Bode said. “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. Wicked and 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 OK. Because she is fictional, that’s totally fine.”
“Aggressive comments and jokes about Nessa’s disability itself is deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional,” she continued. “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 continued, “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 before.”
After the video was released, Bode’s TikTok supporters left her loving messages in the comment section.
“I don’t f**k with Nessa Rose but I f**k with you girl. I’m so sorry that people are so cruel,” one wrote.
“Absolutely agree. While I don’t like Nessarose as a character, I genuinely don’t know why people can’t separate actressfrom character, there’s just no need to be mean,” another shared.
“[T]he internet has a very bad habit of taking things TOO far!! everything you said was very well said 
,” a third commented.
The post ‘Wicked’ Star Marissa Bode Calls Out Negative Remarks And Jokes From Some Fans About Nessarose, Her Disability appeared first on Blavity.
