A clown can’t rain on Quinta Brunson’s parade. The clown in question is Jimmy Kimmel, who didn’t seem to know when to end a bit at the 2022 Emmy Awards on September 12. Abbott Elementary triple threat (creator, writer, and star) Brunson went up to the Emmys stage to accept her award for Outstanding Comedy Writing and had to step over Kimmel’s slack body in the middle of the stage. Nearly perpendicular to the microphone, Will Arnett had dragged a fake-drunk Kimmel onstage and joked that he got too drunk on “skinny margaritas†after losing yet another Emmy in the Variety Talk Series category. Kimmel’s commitment to the joke was seen as yet another palm-colored man disturbing and disrespecting a Black woman’s moment. And now Brunson is left with Getty images of Kimmel at her feet while giving her acceptance speech, which could be annoying and/or allegorical. But Brunson told reporters she was unbothered by the bit in a postshow Emmys interview.
“I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much,†she said graciously. “I don’t know what the internet thinks.†She also explained that she has a lot of respect for Kimmel, who gave her one of her first late-night spots, though she doesn’t know how she will feel about the incident in the future. “Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him,†Brunson joked. “I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face.â€