Quinta Brunson Accepts First Emmy For ‘Abbott Elementary’
Writer, producer, comedian, and actress Quinta Brunson has scored her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy for her hit show Abbott Elementary.
The 32-year-old received a standing ovation after beating the writers for Barry, Hacks, Only Murders in The Building, Ted Lasso, and What We Do In The Shadows. Brunson’s win makes her the second Black woman in Emmy history to independently win in the category, following Lena Waithe. She’s also the first to win the award solo. Waithe shared her win with Aziz Ansari in 2017 for an episode of Master of None.
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Gracing the stage in a copper-colored jeweled gown, Brunson was given her award by actor Will Arnett and a “playing dead” Jimmy Kimmel. Stepping over Kimmel, Brunson jokingly played along and began her acceptance speech, saying, “Jimmy, wake up. I won.”
Brunson continued her speech as he lay on the ground motionless. “I want to say thank you to ABC, to Disney, to Fox, and to Warner Brothers – it takes that many people to make a television show. I need to say thank you to Justin and Patrick my co-showrunners for believing in a story from four years ago and thinking that it would make a good TV show.”
She added, “I do want to thank Larry Wilmore for teaching me to write television as well as he did (I know that’s random). And in case I am not up here again, I want to thank my mom, my dad.” Brunson also thanked her siblings, cousins, and her husband for being “the most supportive man she’s ever known” before finally thanking the Abbott Elementary cast.
Aside from starring in her show, Brunson also writes and stars in the ABC mockumentary sitcom where she plays Janine Teagues, a dedicated second-grade teacher at the inner-city Philadelphia elementary school. The Philly native also received two other nominations this year for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Comedy Series as the executive producer of Abbott Elementary.
The ensemble cast includes Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, who also won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Check out Brunson’s full Emmy Awards acceptance speech above.
Congratulations, Quinta!
