Marissa Bode is addressing disappointing remarks about her Wicked character.
One week after the film premiered in theaters, the actress, who like her character Nessarose uses a wheelchair in real life, responded to ableist comments that she described as “low-hanging fruit” about Nessarose.
“It is absolutely OK to not like a fictional character,” Marissa began in her Nov. 29 TikTok video, acknowledging the polarizing response to her character. “I think Nessa is complex, but that’s the beauty of art. 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. Not liking Nessa herself is OK. Because she is fictional, that’s totally fine.”
“Aggressive comments and ‘jokes’ about Ness’ disability itself are deeply uncomfortable because disability is not fictional,” she continued. “At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. It is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking.”
