Jimmy Kimmel Faces Backlash for Stealing Emmy Winner's Moment During Her Speech

Michael Hein

09/15/2022 09:17 am EDT

Jimmy Kimmel is facing some backlash after his joke at the Emmys distracted from a winner's big moment of triumph. Kimmel pretended to be unconscious while presenting the award for outstanding writing for a comedy series. While Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson accepted the award, Kimmel continues to lie still at her feet in a move that some say was detracting from Brunson's big win.

Kimmel presented the comedy writing award with Will Arnett at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, and they decided on a pretty demanding gag for their moment on stage. Arnett physically dragged Kimmel onto the stage with him, joking that he had "got into the skinny margaritas" at the in-house bar after losing his own category earlier in the night. The audience chuckled at this joke, but after Arnett had read the nominees and handed the trophy to Brunson, Kimmel remained in place. Brunson even needed to step over him to reach the microphone.

Brunson was still able to give her acceptance speech – which meant a lot to viewers who see her show as a triumph for Black Americans in comedy. To some critics, this momentous occasion made it even more inappropriate for Kimmel to remain on the floor in Brunson's path. Brunson herself seemed mostly unfazed, but at one point she did cry out: "Jimmy, wake up. I won!"

Brunson got about one minute to give her acceptance speech. She thanked her family, her husband and the team behind Abbott Elementary. Still, some viewers thought she should have gotten to enjoy this moment without Kimmel in the way. Scroll down for some of the top reactions to this stunt on social media.

Brunson's Response

First and foremost, many fans were eager to hear what Brunson thought of this complication during her big moment. Brunson told The L.A. Times that she wasn't angry, but that she reserved the right to change her mind about that once the shock and adrenaline had worn off. Some viewers were sad that it fell on Brunson to form an opinion at such a chaotic time for her.

Kimmel's Response

Kimmel himself answered for this bit in an interview with Entertainment Tonight later in the evening. He claimed that he was unsure what to do in the moment, but it seems the social media controversy had not really peaked when Kimmel fielded this question.

Literally 'Over My Dead Body'

Some viewers thought that the simplest interpretation of Kimmel's gag was that he was trying to keep himself in the spotlight during a big moment that should have belonged to Brunson alone. They thought this was a subconscious form of misogyny and/or racism.

Edits

It wasn't long before Kimmel's interruption became a meme on its own, and fans photoshopped his unconscious form out of the original image and into others.

Apologize

Many fans want to hear Kimmel publicly apologize to Brunson. Some expect a deeper conversation about this moment on Wednesday night when Brunson is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Predictable

Some fans foresaw this reaction on Twitter immediately when watching Brunson's acceptance speech life. They remarked that they were enjoying the jokes about the whole scenario, but wondered how Kimmel had failed to see this coming.

Moonlight

In light of this controversy, many fans dredged up old videos and soundbites of Kimmel at the 2017 Oscars, when the award for best picture was mistakenly given to La La Land before Moonlight. Before long, Kimmel's history of using blackface and racial slurs in his comedy came up as well.

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