Wicked star Marissa Bode is calling out ‘very gross’ comments that has come to her attention surrounding her character Nessarose’s disability in the film which released in theatres November 22. The actor took to TikTok where she said that not liking the character is okay but jokes about her disability are “deeply uncomfortable.” (Also read: Hollywood critics post screenshots of emails from Ariana Grande fans bribing jury to get her award nomination for Wicked)
What Marissa said
Taking to TikTok, Marissa posted a five-minute long video to address the issue. She began, “There's something that's made me a bit uncomfortable, and as somebody who's disabled with a platform, I just wanted to talk about it really quick. It is absolutely OK 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. 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.”
‘Disability is not fictional’
She went on to add, "Not liking Nessa herself is okay, 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. 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. 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. 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."
{{/usCountry}}She went on to add, "Not liking Nessa herself is okay, 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. 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. 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. 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."
{{/usCountry}}The actor then said, “The most frustrating part about all of this is how scared I am to even post/talk about this, which is also the bigger reason as to why I'm making this video in the first place. This goes so far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to avoid 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 really gross and harmful comments that real disabled people, including myself, have heard before.”
‘Please be kind’
Marissa spoke about ableism and said, "I am scared, also, because I have seen firsthand what has happened to my disabled peers who are outspoken online when it comes to calling out ableism and why jokes of standing and being a vegetable — which is a derogatory term, by the way, for disabled people, and a comment that I saw about Nessa — these disabled creators' comments are flooded with ableist comments. When speaking on ableism, they're told to just take a joke, and that they're asking too much, and to stop complaining, to the point where some of my disabled peers, these disabled creators, have needed to take a break online for their own mental well-being. To state the obvious, that's not good."
She added, "Rather than dismissing one another and claiming an experience can't be true because you personally don't feel that way about a joke that wouldn't have affected your demographic anyways, listen to the people or to the person that it is affecting and how it makes them feel. Thankfully, I'm at a place in my life today where I can recognize these jokes about disability are made out of ignorance. I couldn't say the same about Marissa 10 years ago, and it would have affected younger me a lot more, and I'm worried that a younger version of myself is somewhere on the internet and is harmed by these comments. Please be kind. And lastly, I want to say one of the major themes within Wicked is having the ability to listen and understand one another, and I truly hope that is something a lot of you can practice more and take with you. Thank you."
Wicked, adapted from Gregory Maguire's best-selling novel, tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande portray Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the film. It is directed by Jon M Chu.