‘Wicked' Star Slams This One Airline for Being Denied Boarding: ‘Do Better'

25-year-old Marissa Bode, who played Nessarose in Wicked, recently had an incident with Southern Airways. In a Tiktok posted on April 23, the actress said that she was denied boarding because of her disability and warned others not to use the airline.

Bode explained that she needed assistance with her boarding pass before her connecting flight and approached the gate. "The two people at the gate look at me and they're like, ‘Can you stand?' And I said, ‘No.' And they said, ‘I'm sorry, because of that we're gonna have to deny you boarding.'"

She continued, "They proceeded to tell me all the planes within this airline have stairs to get on the plane. Wild. Never heard of that before. To which I said, ‘I've never heard that before. You're telling me none of the people who have flown on your plane before are disabled?'"

Bode was also told that the weight of her 35-pound wheelchair would be an issue on their small planes, even though her manager spoke to the airline beforehand and was "fully assured" that she would be set for the flight.

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"It is always something when I'm flying. It is very rare that I'm flying and there isn't a problem with my chair or I'm not talked down to." She continued, "It's so much more than bad communication. It's so much more than a mistake. These are our lives. This is our entire existence you're talking about. My wheelchair is my freedom. And of course when I'm crying out of frustration and talking to the people at the gate very firmly, I look like a crazy person. I look like the one that's in the wrong."

Bode ended up taking an expensive ride, which lasted over three hours, to reach her destination. As she said at the end of her video, "Airlines as a whole, once again, do f---ing better."

Fans showed their support in the comments, with one saying, "I hate that this happens to you but please keep speaking out. Your voice has more power than the everyday person given you have some status. Love you queen, and wish the best."

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 5:37 AM.