“Wicked” actress Marissa Bode speaks out against “disgusting and hurtful remarks” about her character’s disability.
“Disability is real. ” At the end of the day, I, Marissa, am still the one who is disabled and uses a wheelchair. “It’s an easy opportunity that many of you are okay with going for. “
Wicked star Marissa Bode said that people’s reactions online to her character with a disability have been “gross and harmful. ”
Bode, who uses a wheelchair in real life and in the movie, went on TikTok on Friday (November 29) to talk about the mean comments aimed at her character Nessarose. She said it’s completely fine to dislike a made-up character, but the comments were very hurtful.
“I’m going to be honest and say that I feel differently about Nessa than many of you do, and that’s completely okay. ” “I think Nessa is complicated, but that’s what makes art beautiful,” she said.
“Wicked” and its characters wouldn’t be the same without different views on who is really good or bad. It’s alright not to like Nessa. “Since she is not real, that’s completely okay. ”
She said that she is a “not very serious person” and doesn’t mind the “silly and light-hearted” jokes about Nessarose’s personality. However, she feels very uncomfortable with the “harsh” comments about her character’s disability.
“Disability is real,” she said. “In the end, I, Marissa, am the one who is still disabled and uses a wheelchair. ” So, it’s an easy choice that many of you are happy to pick.
“Before I got the role in ‘Wicked,’ I heard comments about standing up for myself and not getting along with someone, just about me as Marissa, not as Nessa,” she said. “These comments are not new, and when people who aren’t disabled make jokes about not being able to walk, it feels more like they are making fun of us instead of sharing a laugh together. ”
Bode, the first person in a wheelchair to play Nessarose in Wicked, said, “This is much bigger than just me and Marissa dealing with mean comments online. ” These comments aren’t alone. Mean comments that wish to hurt Nessa or say she deserves to be in a wheelchair are really hurtful and wrong. Many people with disabilities, including me, have heard things like this before.
She kept telling viewers to pay attention to the people involved and how they feel about it. She also expressed worry that “a younger me is online and could be hurt by these comments. ”
At the end of the video, Bode said: “Finally, I want to mention that a big idea in ‘Wicked’ is the importance of listening to and understanding each other. ” “I really hope many of you can practice this more and remember it. ”
This comes after the movie’s director said that the next film in the series is “eight times more important” because of the current state of society.
