Wicked star Marissa Bode has condemned comments made about her character Nessarose’s disability, labelling them “gross”, “harmful” and “aggressive”.
Bode, who is an authentic wheelchair user herself, posted a TikTok video on Saturday to address the shocking comments she’s seen floating around the internet about her character since Wicked hit the big screen on November 20.
In the video, the 24-year-old acknowledged that while it was totally fine to have negative opinions on her fictional character, she does not condone the jokes surrounding her character’s — and her own — disability.
“It is absolutely okay to not like a fictional character. 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,” Bode said.
“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.
“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.”
Bode explained that many of the jokes she’d heard in reference to herself and her character were extremely ableist.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
Bode, who is a disability advocate, said it’s not about just ignoring negative comments that inevitably occur on the internet.
“These comments do not exist in a vacuum,” Bode explained.
“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.”
Instead of dismissing the criticism, Bode urged people to listen to those with disabilities about the impact of these comments.
She concluded by saying that Wicked is about “having the ability to listen and to understand one another”.
“I truly hope that is something a lot of you can practice more and take with you,” she said. Drop that mic, baby!!!
When Bode was in Sydney for the Wicked premiere press run, she told PEDESTRIAN.TV how excited she was to be the first authentic wheelchair user to ever play Nessarose.
“I think that’s great to set a precedent for other projects to come and other casting to come as well,” she explained.
“Just for so many other disabled people out there to feel seen, because having someone who is authentically like them, for them to have that, I think that’s incredibly important. There hasn’t been a lot of that. Although there’s a lot of progress, there hasn’t been as much as I think there should be personally.”
While disability representation is important, Bode notes that it’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,” she wrote in the caption of her TikTok.
“[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 okay.”
The post Wicked Star & Wheelchair User Marissa Bode Slams ‘Gross’ Jokes About Her Character’s Disability appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
