‘Wicked’s Marissa Bode Calls Out “Gross And Harmful” Ableist Comments About Nessa

deadline.com:

As Wicked continues to fuel an online storm of memes, one cast member is drawing a line in regards to ableist comments. Marissa Bode, who stars in the Jon M.

Chu-helmed adaptation of the Broadway musical as wheelchair-bound Nessarose Thropp, called out recent jokes about the character that have made her feel “deeply uncomfortable” as someone who is also disabled. “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,” started Bode in a five-minute TikTok video.

The actress explained that she’s not bothered by criticism of Nessa as a complicated character who makes questionable decisions. “That’s the beauty of art and Wicked — 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,” she said. “And not liking Nessa herself is okay, because she is fictional.

That’s totally fine.” In the movie musical, Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) younger sister Nessarose is a paraplegic, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the East, ruler of Munchkinland.