Wicked star Marissa Bode called out the jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability.
The 24-year-old actress, who plays Elphaba’s favored sister in the two-part musical movie adaptation, said the things people have been saying about her character’s disability is ‘deeply uncomfortable.’
On Friday, she took to TikTok in a five-minute clip to address the ‘very gross and harmful comments’ that have been circulating online ever since the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led film premiered on November 22.
In her video message, she began by saying that it is OK and ‘totally fine’ to dislike Nessarose’s actions and personality or to make jokes about those particular subjects because she is a fictional character.
The actress — whose rumored salary along with those of her Wicked co-stars have gone viral — said that she herself is a ‘deeply unserious’ person, who loves joking around when it is fun and harmless.
However, she condemned jokes about Nessarose’s disability and said they are ‘deeply uncomfortable.’
Wicked star Marissa Bode called out the jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability
‘Disability is not fictional,’ Bode explained. ‘At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. So, it is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking.’
‘This goes so far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to ignore comments on the internet,’ she continued.
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‘These comments do not exist in a vacuum,’ she said before she started giving examples of the shocking and egregious jokes people have been making about her character regarding her disability.
‘Aggressive 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.’
‘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.
In the TikTok video, she also admitted that ‘the most frustrating part about all of this is how scared I am to even post [and] talk about this.’
‘I am scared also [to say this],’ the star added. ‘Because I have seen firsthand what has happened to my disabled peers who are outspoken online, when it comes to calling out ableism and jokes of standing and being a “vegetable” — which is a derogatory term, by the way, for disabled people and a comment that I saw about Nessa.’
She said she witnessed them being told to ‘just take a joke’ or ‘stop complaining.’
The 24-year-old actress, who plays Elphaba’s favored sister in the two-part musical movie adaptation, said the things people have been saying about her character’s disability is ‘deeply uncomfortable’
On Friday, she took to TikTok in a five-minute clip to address the ‘very gross and harmful comments’ that have been circulating online ever since the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande -led film premiered on November 22
Because of the comments, she said they have had to step back from content creation and their artistry to protect mental health, which she noted is ‘not good.’
She encouraged people to stop dismissing each other or ‘claiming an experience can’t be true’ because they ‘don’t feel that way’ or cannot relate with their own lived experience.
Bode said she’s learned that jokes about disability ‘are made out of ignorance.’
However, Bode said she wanted to speak out to try and stop anyone else from being ‘harmed’ by the jokes.
‘It would have affected younger me a lot more, and I’m worried that a younger version of myself is somewhere on the internet and is harmed by these comments,’ she said.
‘I do know and have seen, not in this specific instance, but similar comments be made on my disabled peers and disabled creators’ videos to the point where, again, it runs them off the internet. That’s not good. Please be kind.’
She concluded: ‘Lastly, I want to say 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.’
In the caption adjoining her video, Bode wrote: ‘Representation is important but that’s not the only thing that will save the disabled community.
‘I need a lot of y’all (non-disabled people) to do the work. To dissect and unlearn your own ableism. Listen to disabled people. Follow other disabled people outside of just me.’
‘These comments do not exist in a vacuum,’ she said before she started giving examples of the shocking and egregious jokes people have been making about her character regarding her disability; pictured November 14 in New York City
‘Aggressive 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’; pictured November 9 in Los Angeles
She also recommended people to ‘read up on the disability rights movement’ and ‘watch the documentary Crip Camp!’
‘I understand no one likes feeling like they’re being scolded. But true progress never comes with comfort. And that’s OK.’
The first of the two-part Wicked films hit theaters last week, and since then, the film has broken the record for biggest domestic box office opening for a Broadway musical movie adaptation in history.
Wicked: Part Two is set to premiere November 21, 2025.