Wicked star Marissa Bode slams the fashion industry over a lack of disabled representation at the Met Gala as she 'begs non-disabled people for more support'
Wicked star Marissa Bode has slammed the industry for a 'lack of disabled representation' following the Met Gala in a TikTok clip shared to her social media on Thursday.
The actress, 24, who plays Nessarose - Elphaba's favored sister in the two-part musical movie adaptation, 'begged' for support from the public as she said 'disabled people have been screaming for years, for years, to be included'.
Marissa has made history as the first actress with a disability to portray the character of Nessarose, bringing authenticity and representation to the role.
She has been an advocate for respectful representation of disabled individuals in media and has previously spoken out against ableist jokes and comments about her character.
And now, the actress has spoken out following Anna Wintour 's annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute as she 'begs' the industry to do more for disabled people.
She said: 'Sorry one more thing about the Met Gala, but also the fashion industry, acting industry as a whole. Disabled people have been screaming for years, for years, to be included.
'Not just oh you can book this one special diversity shoot, oh you can be a part of this one special episode, I mean included, included, regularly, more than the one and only disabled person being included in something hire multiple of us because we do often exist in the same spaces in real life together.
'And while none of us need some savior to come and rescue us per se all we want is to be heard and listened to and included.
'And this goes along with the conversation of inspiration porn and calling a disabled person inspiring but not going anything in your everyday life to actually make sure that your spaces are accessible, fighting alongside disabled people.
'I truly believe people's biggest problems is disabled people truly doing all the work because we have to force survival if there is also nobody really else there and that what I'm getting at.
'If you as a non disabled person have called a disabled person inspiring, while at the same time you're not checking in with your own spaces and questioning ''hey why isn't there a ramp here? Who can I talk to about that to make sure that that happens? Why don't we gave the support in our schools for disabled kids? How can I help and who can I talk to to ask questions about that and push for that to actually happen?''
'If you're in the industry and have the means to do so, ''why aren't there other disabled people at the Met and who can I talk to to help that happen? Why aren't there a ton of disabled people in the entertainment industry as a whole? Who can I talk to to make that happen?''
'Because disabled people have been screaming from the rooftops forever because again no one else seems to. I am begging others and non-disabled people to uplift those voices and questions those within your spaces.
'And those more people with in power to step it up. If y'all are truly allies then do the work. Help us all get there because we cannot do this on our own.'
This is not the first time Wicked star Marissa has spoken out as she took to TikTok in December 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.'
'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.
'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.'
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.'
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