American filmmaker Jon M. Chu’s musical adaptation of Wicked features Ariana Grande as Galinda (the Good Witch) and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), with Marissa Bode portraying Nessa, Elphaba’s younger sister.
In a TikTok video, Bode, who uses a wheelchair both on screen and in real life, expressed her discomfort with the “aggressive,” “gross,” and “harmful” comments she received about her character.
She acknowledged that it’s perfectly fine not to like a fictional character, noting that Nessa is complex and that differing opinions on her and the themes of Wicked are part of the artistic experience. However, she emphasized that negative comments about her character’s disability were deeply upsetting.
“Disability is not fictional,” Bode explained. “At the end of the day, I, Marissa, am the person who is still disabled and in a wheelchair. It’s just too easy for people to make those jokes.”
The actress revealed that she had faced similar insensitive remarks about her disability even before her role in Wicked, with comments like “stand up for yourself” and “I guess you can’t stand him,” directed at her personally.
