Wicked star Marissa Bode has slammed “gross” jokes about her character Nessarose’s disability, reminding viewers that their comments affect actual disabled people.

Bode portrays Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, in the film adaptation of the musical. The star has recently had to speak out on behalf of her disabled peers after onlookers attempted to use her disability as the punchline of inappropriate jokes.

“It is absolutely okay to not like a fictional character,” Bode said via a recent video on TikTok. But joking about disabilities, however, is not okay. “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,” she added.

Bode continued: “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.

“These comments aren’t original, and 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.”