‘Wicked’ star Marissa Bode speaks out against ‘harmful’ ableist comments made about her character

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — “Wicked” actress Marissa Bode is asking for kindness after receiving ableist comments on social media.

In a video posted to her TikTok page on Saturday, Bode said that while she is usually a “deeply unserious person” and loves joking around, she has received “gross and harmful” comments about her character’s disability since the release of “Wicked.”

Bode, who uses a wheelchair, plays Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) sister Nessarose in “Wicked.” The sisters’ complicated relationship has drawn some heated comments online from movie goers. The movie somewhat differs from the musical version, including the portrayal of the sisters’ story.

Bode told her followers that it “is absolutely ok to not like a fictional character,” but she took issue with the “aggressive comments and jokes about Nessa’s disability itself is deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional.”

“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,” she said. “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.”

Bode said she recognizes that “these jokes about disability are made out of ignorance,” but is taking a stand now, in part, out of concern for younger people who may be more affected by these harmful comments.

“Please be kind,” she urged, before evoking a lesson from “Wicked” itself.

“One of the major themes within ‘Wicked’ is having the ability to listen and to understand one another, and I truly hope that is something a lot of you can practice more and take with you,” she said.

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