Sheryl Lee Ralph Thought Jimmy Kimmel’s Skit At Emmys Was Disrespectful To Quinta Brunson

At least one member of Abbott Elementary is coming to the defense of her boss after that odd moment during the Emmys Monday when Jimmy Kimmel played dead on stage as Quinta Brunson took the stage to accept her prize.

At ABC’s TCA day Wednesday, the actors were asked about how it played in the room when Brunson, the EP and star of the ABC comedy, accepted her first Emmy with Kimmel lying motionless below her. Co-star Lisa Ann Walter thought it “played funny,” but Ralph, who won an Emmy of her own Monday, was having none of it.

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“I was absolutely confused,” she told reporters. “I didn’t know what was going on. I wish that man would just get up off the ground. Then I realized it was Jimmy Kimmel. Ooh, the disrespect, Jimmy! But that’s just me. I told him, too, to his face. He understood.”

“The Emmy winner has become so bold!” Walters responded.

For those who missed the gimmick, Will Arnett dragged the late-night star on stage for a bit before he announced the winner for Best Writing in a Comedy Series. Brunson won, but Kimmel —  who said nothing during the entire skit but did give a thumb’s up to the Emmy winner — opted to stayed put. Brunson even tried to rouse him by saying “Jimmy, wake up. I won,” but he wouldn’t budge.

Backstage, Brunson said she didn’t mind too much.

“I don’t know. I know Jimmy Kimmel. The bit didn’t bother me. 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. Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him.”

Brunson is scheduled to appear on Kimmel’s show tonight. “I’m going to tape it right after this. It will be a good-old fashioned conversation,” she told reporters today. “I think it will be a good time. You’ll have to tune in and watch.”

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