A night to remember. Jimmy Kimmel endlessly complimented Quinta Brunson. The creator and star of ABC’s Abbott Elementary just won her first Emmy for Best Comedy Writing at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, and the late-night talk show host celebrated by lying down on the floor when she was giving her speech.
After the awards show, ET caught up with Jimmy at the Walt Disney Emmys Afterparty, and he had nothing bad to say about Quinta. “She is so unbelievably talented. And 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,’” Kimmel gushed about her, adding “She’s a lovely person as well.”
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When Quinta was giving her speech for her first Emmys win, Jimmy was laying down on the floor as a bit when he presented the award for Outstanding Comedy Writing with fellow comedian Will Arnett. He played unconscious as Will joked that Jimmy was passed-out drunk after having lost yet another Emmy to John Oliver. However, as Quinta went up to receive the award, Jimmy did not budge. “Jimmy, wake up. I won,” Quinta said before her speech. Jimmy did not leave the stage until Quinta finished her speech.
The internet had mixed feelings about Jimmy’s bit. One person tweeted, “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 mans world I don’t know what is.” Quinta clarified her stance on the bit when she talked to the press room after she won her award. “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.”
She also went on to go about how Jimmy was supportive of her show from the beginning. “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,” Quinta said. “Tomorrow, maybe I’ll be mad at him.” She will also appear on his late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday after the Emmys. “Maybe I’ll punch him. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
