Marissa Bode breaks silence on offensive comments about her ‘Wicked’ role
Marissa Bode recently called out the shocking response to her portrayal of the disabled character Nessarose in Wicked.
The 24-year-old actress, who depicts Elphaba’s sister Nessarose in Wicked, took to her TikTok and posted a five-minute video saying the comments about her character’s disability are “deeply uncomfortable.”
In the video, she talked about the “very gross and harmful comments” that have been shared online since the movie premiered.
Bode went on to articulate that it is “OK and ‘totally fine'” to dislike Nessarose’s actions or personality or to make jokes about those things because she is a fictional character.
The actress, whose rumoured salary with her Wicked co-stars went viral, disclosed that she is a “deeply unserious” person who enjoys joking around when it’s fun and harmless.
However, condemning jokes about Nessarose’s disability, she highlighted “it is deeply uncomfortable.”
Expanding on this, Bode said, “Disability is not fictional. At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. So, it is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking.”
“This goes so far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to ignore comments on the internet,” she mentioned.
Before giving examples of the “harmful jokes” people have made about her character’s disability, she remarked, “These comments do not exist in a vacuum.”
Then she explained by saying, “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.”
“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 concluded.
As soon as she posted a video, people came forward to show her support.
One person commented, “I’m so sorry that this even has to be said.”
“I have so much love and respect for you. Beautiful inside and out. You deserve none of this,” another wrote with a red heart emoji.
The third scribbled, “You gave so much life and complexity to a character that prior to this adaptation I had never paid attention to. Nessa is morally complicated, and you did amazing!!”
For the unversed, the first of the two Wicked films was released in theatres last week with a record-breaking box office opening for an adaptation of a Broadway musical.
It is pertinent to mention that Wicked: Part Two is set to premiere on November 21, 2025.