‘Wicked’ Star Marissa Bode Condemns ‘Aggressive’ and ‘Very Gross’ Comments About Nessarose’s Disability: It Is ‘Low-Hanging Fruit That Too Many of You Are Comfortable Taking’

variety.com:

Michaela Zee “Wicked” star Marissa Bode has spoken out against the negative comments and jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability, calling them “aggressive,” “very gross” and “harmful.” In a five-minute video posted on TikTok on Friday, Bode — who uses a wheelchair on screen and in real life — shared her thoughts on the insensitive comments circulating online about Nessarose, the younger sister of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). “It is absolutely OK to not like a fictional character,” Bode said. “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.

And not liking Nessa herself is OK. Because she is fictional, that’s totally fine.” Bode acknowledged that she is a “deeply unserious person,” who doesn’t mind “silly, goofy, harmless” jokes regarding Nessarose’s personality or actions — reiterating that it’s because the “Wicked” character is fictional.

However, she does not condone “aggressive” comments and jokes about Nessarose’s disability, adding that they’re “deeply uncomfortable.” “Disability is not fictional,” Bode continued. “At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair.