Hollywood actress and write Quinta Brunson won her first Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, for her work on the Abbott Elementary pilot. Presenter Jimmy Kimmel stayed committed to his 2022 Emmys comedy bit lying seemingly lifeless across the stage while Brunson gave her acceptance speech.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, as presenters of best writing in a comedy series, Will Arnett dragged a seemingly passed-out Kimmel onto the stage, with Arnett quipping to the crowd that this is the “13th time in a row that he’s lost and he just got into the skinny margaritas back there.” When Brunson took the stage to accept the prize, her first-ever Emmy, Kimmel remained onstage.
Arnett tried to push Kimmel out of the way to make room for the winner, with Brunson telling him, “Jimmy, wake up. I won.” Kimmel gave her a thumbs-up but continued to lie down across the stage throughout the speech, and it wasn’t until after Brunson was done that Arnett dragged him back off.
Jimmy Kimmel’s move gave the netizens of Twitter a little to talk about and sparked controversy online. “Not really feeling Jimmy Kimmel staying on the ground while Quinta is accepting her award. Joke was stale,” one user wrote. “Jimmy Kimmel not moving to get out of Quinta Brunson’s way is a (shitty, selfish, bullshit) choice,” tweeted Andy Dehnart, secretary of the Television Critics Association.
Author and activist Ernest Owens tweeted, “Can’t lie, I’m still annoyed that Jimmy Kimmel’s annoying ass was on the ground trying to take attention away from Quinta Brunson’s historic victory.” Brunson later addressed the moment backstage, saying, “I know Jimmy Kimmel. I don’t know. The bit didn’t bother me that much. I don’t know what the internet thinks.”
