Sheryl Lee Ralph Addresses Jimmy Kimmel Crashing Quinta Brunson’s Emmys Speech: ‘Ooh, the Disrespect!’

Sheryl Lee Ralph has made her feelings known on Jimmy Kimmel’s bit during Quinta Brunson’s Emmys acceptance speech.

During a virtual panel for ABC’s presentation at the TCA’s summer press tour, “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Brunson was asked about Kimmel lying down onstage as she won the award for comedy writing on Monday night. She reiterated her previous comments that she isn’t upset about what happened, mentioning that she’s appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday.

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“I’m anticipating that we are going to have a good old fashioned time,” she said. “I have talked with Jimmy since, and I think no matter what, it’s important to just showcase that ‘Abbott Elementary’ is premiering next week. It’s gonna be a good time and you’ll probably just have to tune in and watch.”

“I thought it played funny in the room,” said Lisa Ann Walter, who also stars in the series.

But Ralph, who took home her own Emmy that night for her supporting comedy actress, disagreed.

“I was absolutely confused. I didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “I was like, ‘I wish that man would just get up off of the ground.’ And then I realized it was Jimmy Kimmel, and I was like, ‘Ooh, the disrespect, Jimmy!’ But that’s just me.” She laughed, before sarcastically adding: “Sorry! I’m so sorry, it was lovely that he was lying on the floor during her wonderful acceptance speech!”

“I told him, too! To his face! And he understood,” Ralph continued.

The panel also allowed the “Abbott Elementary” cast to discuss what’s to come in their second season, which premieres Sept. 21. For example, Season 2 will spend sometime off of school grounds and in the characters’ homes.

“It was important to make sure it didn’t overwhelm this workplace comedy,” Brunson said, “but in order to flesh out the backstories of these characters a little bit more and give viewers some thing that they didn’t have the first season, we thought it’d be great to go into their backstories. The home is a great place to learn more about a character.”

Tyler James Williams explained why he disagrees with the showbiz adage that it’s best to avoid having children on set: “Kids know what they’re doing if you give them the opportunity to know what they’re doing.”

“It’s been really nice to bring them into the the educational process of it all. They add a certain something to this show that you just can’t get anywhere else, because they’re not hyper-professional,” he said. “They do a very good job, but they’re not trying to chart out their careers immediately. We get a lot of really fun energy here. They’re just as responsive in the scenes as we are, and as an actor, that stops it from getting stale. So for me, I’ve never agreed with that sentiment. It just makes you more diverse. It gives us more to play with. I don’t think it’s inhibited us at all in any way, shape, or form.”

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