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Credit: Universal PicturesOn November 22, after years of waiting, Universal finally released its highly anticipated Broadway-to-big-screen film Wicked. Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Now, unlike in The Wizard of Oz (1939), when audiences meet Elphaba, she is not “wicked.” In fact, she is one of the nicest girls at Shiz University, and all she wants to do is fit in with her fellow students. Of course, that is a little tough, considering she is green.
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Even before its release, Wicked was one of the most popular movies of the year. Fans couldn’t wait to see the beloved play — which premiered in 2003 — brought to life on the big screen. And, as expected, it has become the hit of the holiday season. Of course, there is some debate over whether it’s okay to sing along in movie theaters, but that hasn’t diminished fans’ love of the film.
Unfortunately, not everything is coming up roses, and one actress is learning the dark side of fame.
Marissa Bode stars alongside Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (Galinda) as Elphie’s sister, Nessarose. Elphaba is very protective of her sister, who is disabled and in a wheelchair. Sadly, Nessarose does not deserve the love and protection she gets from her sister.
Nessarose is greedy and gets upset when she doesn’t get what she wants, including the boy she likes, Boq. She thinks that Boq likes her, but he is really being nice to her because Galinda asked him to.
When Nessarose finds out, she tries to cast a spell to make Boq love her. However, she accidentally shrinks his heart. Elphaba saves Boq’s life by turning him into the Tin Man. Everyone blames Elphie for what happened, and Nessarose just lets them.
Nessarose is a character who was really made to be hated. However, many audience members can’t seem to remember that the actress is nothing like her character.
Recently, Bode took to TikTok to share her thoughts on her character, and how it’s okay to disagree about Nessarose and what it truly means to be wicked.
“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.”
It is important to note that Bode is the first disabled actress to portray Nessarose. And sadly, after the film’s release, she found herself being attacked personally. And it wasn’t because of how much people disliked her character. She was being attacked for being disabled.
@marissa_edob 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. Read up on the disability rights movement/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. #wicked #nessa 💗💚
Ms. Bode noted that many of the comments have come from able-bodied strangers who are making fun of the fact that she can’t walk.
Other commenters have said that they want to push the actress out of her wheelchair. Some even went so far as to say that Bode deserved her disability.
”Disability is not fictional. 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 far beyond me, Marissa, just needing to ignore comments on the internet. These comments do not exist in a vacuum. 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.”
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Bode also admitted that she was scared of what will happen to her for speaking out. She said that plenty of disabled content creators have disappeared because of how the insults hurt their mental health. Too often, they were told that they were being too serious, or they didn’t know how to take a joke.
Since being released on November 22, Wicked has broken records, including the biggest box office opening for a Broadway play adaptation.
Wicked Part Two will be released in theaters nationwide on November 21, 2025.
Who is your favorite character in Wicked? How do you think actors should handle trolls who attack them personally because of their character? Share your thoughts in the comments!