Sheryl Lee Ralph on Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmys Bit: ‘The Disrespect’

Our no-nonsense Mrs. Howard. Photo: Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

Sheryl Lee Ralph was not unbothered by Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmys bit, unlike her fearless Abbott Elementary leader Quinta Brunson. In a TV Critics Association panel for Abbott Elementary on September 14, the recent Emmy winner shared the roller coaster of emotions she had while witnessing Kimmel lie on the ground while Abbott creator Brunson gave her acceptance speech for Outstanding Comedy Writing. “I was absolutely confused,” Ralph said onstage. “I was like, ‘I wish that man would just get up off the ground.’ And then I realized it was Jimmy Kimmel, and then I was shocked. Ooh, the disrespect, Jimmy.” Co-star Lisa Ann Walter did not experience those same five stages of irritation that Ralph had, remarking that the bit played “funny.” The funniest thing about the situation is this exchange between Ralph and Walter at the panel: “I first thought it was Guillermo [from Jimmy Kimmel Live!] lying down on the stage,” Ralph told the crowd. “From What We Do in the Shadows?” Walter questioned back. If only.