‘Wicked’ star Marissa Bode reacts to jokes about character

‘Wicked’ actor Marissa Bode has reacted to the negative comments and jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability.

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American filmmaker Jon M. Chu’s musical adaptation Wicked stars Ariana Grande as Galinda aka the Good Witch, and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba aka the Wicked Witch of the West while Bod plays the younger sister of Elphaba.

In a TikTok video, the Hollywood actor, who uses a wheelchair on screen and in real life, said that the comments she received were mostly ‘aggressive,’ ‘very gross’ and ‘harmful.’

“It is absolutely OK to not like a fictional character. 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,” she added.

Read more: ‘Wicked’: All details about plot and release date of part 2

However, the Hollywood star said that the negative comments and jokes about her character’s disability were “deeply uncomfortable.”

“Disability is not fictional. At the end of the day, me, Marissa, is the person that is still disabled and in a wheelchair. And so, it is simply a low-hanging fruit that too many of you are comfortable taking,” Marissa Bode added.

The Hollywood actor revealed that she had in the past heard many jokes about her disability even before her role in ‘Wicked.’

“Before even being cast in ‘Wicked,’ I had received comments — just as me, as Marissa, not Nessa — around the words of ‘stand up for yourself,’ ‘I guess you can’t stand him,’ et cetera,” she added.