Wicked star Marisa Bode calls out ‘offensive comments’ on her character’s disability: ‘Please be kind’

What did Marissa say?

Marissa posted a five-minute long video on TikTok to address the issue. She began, “There’s something that made me a little uncomfortable, and as someone who is disabled from a stage, I just wanted to talk about it right away. It’s perfectly okay not to like a fictional character. I’m going to admit my bias in that I have a lot of different feelings towards Nessa than many of you, and that’s totally okay. I think Nessa is complicated, but that’s the beauty of art. Wicked and these characters and the film would not be what it is if there were not different opinions on the characters and who is or is not truly evil.

‘Disability is not imaginary’

She added, “It’s okay to not like Nessa herself, because she’s fictional. That’s totally fine. The offensive comments and jokes about Nessa’s disability are extremely uncomfortable, because the disability is not fictional. Finally, I, Marissa, am someone who is still disabled and in a wheelchair and so this is just a low-hanging fruit that many of you accepted even before I was cast in Wicked, me. Too There were comments – just like Marissa’s, not Nessa’s – based around the words ‘Stand up for yourself’, ‘I think you can’t stand her,’ etc. These are not original. , and when these jokes are being made by non-disabled strangers with the punchline of not being able to walk, it feels like laughing along rather than being laughed at.”

The actor then added, “The most frustrating thing about all this is how scared I am to even post/talk about this, which is the biggest reason why I’m making this video. This goes way beyond me, Marissa, to just avoid comments on the internet. These comments do not exist in a vacuum. Harmful and aggressive comments about pushing Nessa out of her wheelchair or that she is entitled to her disability are two really nasty and hurtful comments that real disabled people, including myself, have heard before.

‘Please be kind’

Marissa spoke about ableism and said, “I’m scared, too, because I’ve seen firsthand what has happened to my disabled peers who are vocal online when it comes to ableism and why they stand up. And the jokes about being a vegetable – which is a derogatory term for people with disabilities, by the way, and a comment I saw about Nessa – the comments from these disabled creators are full of ableist comments when they speak on ableism. are only asked to take one joke, and that’s too much they’re asking, and stop complaining, to the extent that some of my disabled peers, these disabled creators, have, to put it bluntly “For your own mental well-being, you need to take a break online, it’s not good.”

He added, “Instead of dismissing each other and claiming that an experience can’t be true because you don’t personally feel that way about a joke that won’t affect your demographic, people or that person Listen to who it is that is affecting them and how it makes them feel. Thankfully, I am at a place in my life today where I can recognize that these jokes about disability are made out of ignorance. , I I couldn’t have said the same about Marissa 10 years ago. It would have affected me more, and I worry that a younger version of me is somewhere on the internet and has been harmed by these comments. And in the end, I have to say. One of the key themes within Wicked is the ability to listen and understand each other, and I really hope many of you can practice this more and take that with you. Thank you.”

Adapted from Gregory Maguire’s best-selling novel, Wicked tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande play Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the film. It is directed by John M Chu.