Emmys 2022: Quinta Brunson responds to Jimmy Kimmel gatecrashing her Emmys speech

Talk show host received Twitter backlash after he pretended to be drunk after losing in his own category

Quinta Brunson has responded to Jimmy Kimmel gatecrashing her Emmys 2022 acceptance speech.

During Monday (12 September) evening’s award show, actor Will Arnett dragged the late-night talk show host onstage to present the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

Kimmel pretended to have passed out after drinking too many margaritas upon losing in his own category.

However, when the Abbott Elementary creator and star graced the stage to accept her first-ever Emmy for the category, Kimmel remained sprawled out on stage while she gave her speech.

“Jimmy, wake up, I won,” Brunson nudged, as she played along with the joke. But he remained where he was, leading many to accuse him of stealing the winner’s spotlight.

Read our recent interview with Brunson here.

“Quinta Brunson deserved better than giving her acceptance over Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘dead’ body,” one Twitter user wrote.

While Kimmel received a considerable amount of online backlash, with another writing that his actions were “highly disrespectful”, the Emmy-winner shared a different opinion backstage with the press (via the Los Angeles Times).

“I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much,” she admitted. “I don’t know what the internet thinks!

“Honestly, Jimmy gave me my first late-night spot and was one of the first people to see Abbott and he Instagram messaged me that he saw this comedy and thought it was one of the greatest comedies of all time and he was so excited it was going to be on ABC.”

Will Arnett, Jimmy Kimmel, and Quinta Brunson at the Emmys 2022 (Getty Images)

She continued: “So I think in that moment, I was just really happy that it was Jimmy up there! I’m a huge fan of Will Arnett, so I was wrapped up in the moment,” she said, before quipping: “I’m gonna be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face.

“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

Catch up with what happened at the Emmys here, find the full list of winners here, and find out about the biggest snubs and surprises here.