Why are ‘Wicked’ Fans Hating on Marissa Bode’s Nessarose? Actress Slams Offensive Jokes on Her Disability After Film’s Release
- Wicked fans' hate towards Nessarose has culminated in a storm of nasty comments.
- Some fans have also made offensive jokes about the character's disability.
- Marissa Bode has taken to TikTok to express her criticism about such hurtful comments.
The fantasy musical movie Wicked not only marks Marissa Bode’s film debut but also represents the first adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel to feature an actor with a disability in the role of Nessarose. In the adaptations so far, an able-bodied actress had to use a wheelchair to portray the disabled character, so the production team behind this movie has truly made history.
That said, Nessarose is undoubtedly not a very likable character, and Bode has done a phenomenal job at channeling that in the movie. This has led to unadulterated hate and malicious jokes being directed toward Nessarose online, but some of them seem to have crossed the line by poking fun at her disability. Bode, obviously disturbed by all this, recently took to social media to criticize such offensive jokes.
[Spoilers for Wicked and The Wizard of Oz ahead]
Fans Unimpressed with Nessarose’s Behavior in Wicked Have Boarded the Hate Train Online
Besides exploring the origins of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) in the movie, Wicked also sheds light on Nessarose’s resentment towards her own older sister, Elphaba. When Nessarose gets enrolled at Shiz University, her father, the Governor of Munchkinland, sends Elphaba to look after her sister until she settles down there. Nessarose does not like this at all because she sees attending this university as her chance to be independent as a disabled person.
Throughout the movie, there are numerous instances where Nessarose is far less than kind to her sister, and the final straw for everyone turns out to be the fact that she did not try to defend Elphaba when the entire club ostracizes her. In the second part of Wicked, Nessarose will most probably take over as the Governor of Munchkinland, and considering how happy the people were after her demise in The Wizard of Oz, she must have been more villainous than she is in this movie.
So, the hatred towards Nessarose is justified, but what remains unacceptable is the fact that people are making fun of her disability. Here are some of the offensive jokes people have made about the character being disabled:
What people do not seem to understand here is that being disabled comes with its challenges and while the things that Nessarose has done are unacceptable, making fun of her disability or joking that she deserves it is not appropriate or constructive.
Marissa Bode Criticized Jokes About Nessarose’s Disability
Disability should never be used as a justification for cruelty or as a punchline, regardless of a character’s actions or moral standing. This is especially true in this case because Marissa Bode who plays Nessarose is disabled in real life.
The actress found the jokes disturbing and uncomfortable and took to TikTok to address this. She began by saying that she is alright about people making fun of the character’s future fate (Dorothy Gale’s house falling on Nessarose resulting in her demise) and her personality, but the line has to be drawn when it comes to her disability. She said:
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.
Bode further said that when non-disabled strangers make jokes about Nessarose not being able to walk or stand, it feels like “laughing at rather than laughing with.” She emphasized that such jokes are exactly the kind of things that she and other disabled people like her have heard in real life which makes all these seemingly harmless jokes even more hurtful.
Wicked is now in theatres.
