Quinta Brunson is sharing her thoughts about Jimmy Kimmel‘s bit during her acceptance speech at last night’s 2022 Emmy Awards.
While the internet was anything but happy about the late-night show host’s actions, Brunson thinks otherwise!
Fans Bash Jimmy Kimmel Over Quinta Brunson’s Emmy Speech Controversy
On Monday night, Brunson took home the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her hit show, “Abbott Elementary.” The award was presented by Kimmel and Will Arnett, and the duo performed a hilarious bit before Brunson came on stage to receive her accolade.
MEGAArnett dragged a supposedly dead Kimmel onto the stage to present the award. “Thirteenth time in a row that he’s lost and he just got into the skinny margaritas back there,” the “Arrested Development” star joked on stage.
When Brunson was finally announced as the winner of the category, she went along with the bit and tried to pull Kimmel off the floor, saying, “Jimmy, wake up. I won.” However, the comedian seemed so deep into the act and didn’t respond.
The actress who made history as the second Black woman to win that category didn’t seem so bothered and carried on with her acceptance speech, where she thanked everyone that had a hand in making the show come to life.
“I want to say thank you to ABC, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros.,” Brunson said. “It takes that many people to make a television show. I need to say thank you to Justin and Patrick, my co-showrunners, for believing in a show from four years ago and thinking that it would make a good TV show.”
While it seems Brunson’s acceptance speech went on without a glitch, fans online weren’t happy with Kimmel, accusing him of trying to steal a black woman’s spotlight during an important time in her career.
MEGAOne fan wrote, “Quinta Brunson deserved better than giving her acceptance over Jimmy Kimmel’s “dead” body. #Emmys #AbbottElementary,” while another netizen added, “Jimmy Kimmel owes Quinta an apology but the messed up part is every image of her accepting her award has his ass in it. White men really are insufferable.”
This comment read, “If #QuintaBrunson stepping over #JimmyKimmel, who literally laid in her spotlight on the day she won an Emmy isn’t a metaphor for what it means to be a WOC in a white man’s world, I don’t know what is.”
Quinta Brunson Defends Kimmel, Says She’s Not Bothered
Amid the backlash from the internet, the “A Black Lady Sketch Show” actress, during a press conference with Variety, addressed the controversy. When asked by a reporter how she felt during the whole bit, the 32-year-old answered, “I know Jimmy Kimmel, and I don’t know, I feel like the bit didn’t bother me that much. I don’t know what the internet thinks…”
This picture pisses me off SO bad. pic.twitter.com/QyzSguMEhq
— ً (@furyofthegodz) September 13, 2022
The Philadephia native went ahead to speak highly of Kimmel and his impact on making “Abbott Elementary” a success. “Honestly, Jimmy gave me my first big late-night spot. He was one of the first people to see Abbott Elementary. He was the first person to message me on Instagram. He was so excited it was going to be on ABC. I was happy it was Jimmy. He’s one of the comedy godfathers. I’m a huge fan of Will Arnett, so I was wrapped up in the moment.”
Brunson, however, didn’t hesitate to make a cheeky comment, saying, “Tomorrow, maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”
Quinta Brunson addressed Jimmy Kimmel laying on stage during her #Emmys acceptance speech: “I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much…Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face.” https://t.co/Bm8Bfhyi0k pic.twitter.com/cMDuZbq0AQ
— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2022
Kimmel himself has commented on the controversy, calling it “weird.” In an interview with ET Online, the talk show host explained, “I had my eyes closed, I had no idea where I was. It was one of the weirdest things that’s ever happened to me.”
Nevertheless, he had nothing but praises for Brunson, calling her “unbelievably talented.” He corroborated Brunson’s statement about his love for “Abbott Elementary,” saying, “I saw her pilot before it came out on ABC, and I wrote to her, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how we got this, but congratulations. You made a pilot that any network would be ecstatic to get.”
Overall, it seems there’s no bad blood between Brunson and Kimmel.
