‘Abbott Elementary’ creator visits Kimmel, collects apology

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Abbott Elementar y creator-star Quinta Brunson took revenge on Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmy prank with one of her own, then collected an apology from the late-night host whose bit was criticised as rude and worse.

Kimmel, who had distracted attention from Brunson’s Emmy acceptance speech by lying pretend-drunk on stage, was delivering his monologue Wednesday when a pretty-in-pink Brunson appeared, award in hand.

“I have a little favour to ask,” she said. “So you know how when you win an Emmy you only have 45 seconds to do an acceptance speech, which is like not that much time. And then ... you get less time because someone does a dumb comedy bit that goes on a bit too long?”

“I have heard of that happening in previous years,” Kimmel replied.

“Well, I was wondering, or no, more demanding if I could I have a couple of extra minutes to thank, you know, a couple of extra people,” Brunson said. Kimmel stepped back to cede the spotlight to his guest, and later in the show told Brunson he was sorry for what he’d done at the Emmys on Monday.

Brunson’s and Kimmel’s shows both air on ABC.

Brunson won the Best Comedy Series Writing award Emmy and found herself sharing the stage with Kimmel – who was flat on his back and dragged there by fellow presenter Will Arnett because Kimmel supposedly had too many “skinny margaritas”. Kimmel gave Brunson a thumbs-up for her award but didn’t budge, a decision that was blasted online as thoughtless by some and cited as an example of white-male arrogance by others.

Abbott Elementary, a mockumentary set in an underfunded Philadelphia school, earned a total of three Emmy Awards for its freshman season, including one for co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph for Best Comedy Supporting Actress.

On Kimmel’s show, Brunson received loud applause from the studio audience when she thanked “all of the fans of the show”, then joined the host for a chat.

He started out with a one-liner, then turned apologetic. “That was a dumb comedy bit that we thought it would be funny,” he said. “Then people got upset, they said I stole your moment. And maybe I did. I’m very sorry if I did do that. I did do that, actually. ... The last thing I would ever want to do is upset you, because I think so much of you. I think you know that. I hope you know that.”