The atmosphere was surprisingly jolly on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, when Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson sat down for an interview following her Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series win at the Emmy awards earlier this week.
While presenting the award on Monday night, Kimmel, along with actor Will Arnett, played out a skit which saw the Bojack Horseman star drag Kimmel’s “passed out” body onto the stage, where the host remained for the duration of Brunson’s acceptance speech.
The bit attracted widespread condemnation in the aftermath of the ceremony, with Kimmel accused of overshadowing the writer’s first Emmy win with an attention-seeking joke, rather than celebrating Brunson’s work on the hit ABC show.
On Brunson’s part, the writer has remained reluctant to fuel any online drama following the incident. Speaking after the ceremony, she said “I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much…Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face.”
Quinta Brunson addressed Jimmy Kimmel laying on stage during her #Emmys acceptance speech: "I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much…Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face." https://t.co/Bm8Bfhyi0k pic.twitter.com/cMDuZbq0AQ
— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2022
Yet fans tuning into Kimmel’s show for some fisticuffs will have ended the evening disappointed, as Brunson was instead brought on early to jokingly “interrupt” the host’s opening monologue.
“So you know how you win an Emmy, you only have 45 seconds to do an acceptance speech, which is not that much time? And then you get less time because someone does a dumb comedy bit that goes on a bit too long?” Brunson said. You can watch the bit below.
“I do want to explain this for those who may be confused by this,” Kimmel said later in the show. “That was a dumb comedy bit that we thought would be funny. I lost, and then I drank too much, and I had to be dragged out on the stage. And then people got upset.
“They said that I stole your moment, and maybe I did. I’m very sorry if I did do that — I’m sorry I did do that, actually. And also, the last thing I would ever want to do is upset you because I think so much of you, and I think you know that. I hope you know that.”
In recent years, US awards shows have struggled to keep audiences organically engaged, and gaffs such as this continue to dominate news cycles far more than the award winners themselves. With a by-the-numbers Oscars overshadowed by a troubled production and well-documented onstage antics, producers continue to attract controversy by putting underdeveloped comedy skits before celebrations of craft.
While Kimmel’s behaviour may simply be another case of the late-night establishment stealing the limelight from a new generation, it also seems emblematic of a TV and Film culture terrified of taking itself seriously. Maybe one day we’ll get a ceremony which churns out exciting award-winners rather than celebrity gossip, but it won’t be this one. Fingers crossed for next awards season, eh?
