"You Should Be Ashamed": "Wicked" Actor Marissa Bode Says She Was Denied Boarding Over Her Wheelchair

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Marissa Bode is speaking retired aft what she described arsenic an "awful" acquisition with Southern Airways.

In a caller TikTok, the Wicked histrion claimed she was denied boarding connected a Southern Airways formation due to the fact that she uses a wheelchair.

Marissa explained that she was traveling to a tiny municipality successful Pennsylvania for a speaking engagement. While her archetypal flight, operated by United Airlines, went smoothly, things took a crook erstwhile she tried to committee her connecting formation with Southern Airways.

Marissa claims the contented began erstwhile she couldn't find her boarding walk and approached the gross to inquire for help.

"I got to the gross and was like, 'Hey, could you assistance maine find my boarding pass?'" Marissa recalled. 'And the 2 radical astatine the gross look astatine me, and they're like, 'Can you stand?' And I said, 'No.' And they said, 'I'm sorry, but due to the fact that of that, we're going to person to contradict you boarding.'"

Marissa claimed that the agents told her each of their planes necessitate passengers to usage stairs to committee — which she described arsenic "wild."

"I said, 'I've ne'er heard that before. You're telling maine nary of the radical that person flown connected your level earlier are disabled?' To which they said, 'No.' Even the aged person a hard clip getting up those stairs.'"

Clearly frustrated, Marissa questioned wherefore accessibility isn't being addressed proactively. "Why are we erstwhile again waiting astir for a disabled idiosyncratic to beryllium contiguous to adjacent deliberation astir changing things oregon accommodating things?" she said. "And adjacent then, I cognize they're not gonna bash it."

"That's precisely what I said to him. I was like, 'Disabled radical are not an afterthought.' Why, knowing that disabled radical exist, which y'all intelligibly often forget, bash you take not to update your planes? I was like, 'This is blatant segregation.'"

But alternatively than admit her concerns, Marissa claimed the gross cause deflected, saying the value of her wheelchair was besides an issue.

"My seat is 35 pounds," Marissa noted. "I americium heavier than my chair. My seat is astir apt little than different people's luggage, which is precisely what I told him, and past erstwhile helium realized what helium said was bullshit, helium started fumbling and past conscionable repeated, 'You cannot alert this plane.'"

After calling her manager — who she said had antecedently confirmed the hose could accommodate her — Marissa was told the concern was a "miscommunication." Ultimately, she says she was near crying and had to thrust implicit 3 hours to scope her destination.

She ended the TikTok by sharing a informing to different travelers.

"Do not alert Southern Airways," she said. "Southern Airlines, you should perfectly beryllium ashamed of yourself... and airlines arsenic a whole, bash fucking better."

She besides noted that this wasn't a one-off experience. "It is ever thing erstwhile I'm flying," she said. "It is precise uncommon that I'm flying, and determination isn't a occupation with my chair, oregon I'm not talked down to." Marissa recalled a caller concern conscionable a fewer weeks agone successful which her wheelchair was mistakenly marked arsenic luggage and astir sent to the incorrect location.

So far, Southern Airways hasn't publically addressed Marissa's comments, but we've reached retired for comment.

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