Wicked star Marissa Bode took to TikTok on April 23 to voice her frustration with an airline that allegedly turned her away at the gate because she is a wheelchair user.
In the video, Bode says that she was making a connecting flight on her way to a speaking engagement in a small town in Pennsylvania and approached a Southern Airways gate to ask for help locating her boarding pass. The 25-year-old actress said that after realizing Bode was a wheelchair user, a representative told her she would not be able to board the plane.
“The two people at the gate look at me and say, ‘Can you stand?’ and I said, ‘No,’ and they said ‘I’m sorry but because of that we’re going to have to deny you boarding,” Bode said in the video.
Bode said the representatives claimed that because all of the Southern Airways planes have stairs, there was no way for her, or any wheelchair users, to board. When she asked if that meant any disabled people had ever flown with the airline before, the representative said no.
“Why are we once again waiting for a disabled person to be present before they even think about changing things or accommodating things, and even then I know they’re not going to do it,” Bode said. “Disabled people are not an afterthought.”
@marissa_edob @Southern Airways you should be ashamed
After pushing back on being denied entry, Bode says the gate agent tried to shift blame onto Bode’s wheelchair itself, blaming it on the weight of the item — which the Wicked actress pointed out is only 35 pounds. The actress says she was ultimately forced to drive to her location over three hours away.
“This is what I mean when I say it is always something when I’m flying,” Bode said. “It is very rare that I’m flying and there isn’t a problem with my chair, or I’m not talked down to.”
This isn’t the first time Bode, a committed advocate for disabled people, has shared her negative experiences flying as a wheelchair user, pointing out this video is just one in “an accidental series” on her page. In December 2025, Bode posted a video after she and her girlfriend, who are both wheelchair users, had a bad experience flying from New York to Los Angeles. In addition to an accessible bathroom not being available, Bode says the airline broke her partner’s wheelchair, which is an incredibly common problem for wheelchair users who fly. Thousands of wheelchairs are damaged every year by airlines, costing their users time, money, and frustration.
“As long as airlines are shitty, I’m going to continue talking about it,” Bode said in the video. “I think [this is] especially why I’m making this is for my other disabled peers out there, do not fly Southern Airways.”
Them has reached out to Southern Airways for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
This story was originally published on Them.
