Jimmy Kimmel faces backlash over 'disrespectful' Emmys bit during Quinta Brunson's speech

And the award for most controversial Emmys joke goes to...

Jimmy Kimmel is facing backlash for a bit during Monday's Emmy Awards that didn't go over well with fans of Abbott Elementary. The show's creator, Quinta Brunson, won for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. But Will Arnett presented the award with a bit that involved dragging Kimmel on stage and pretending he had passed out from drinking too much. "This is like the thirteenth time in a row that he's lost, and he just got into the skinny margaritas back there," Arnett joked.

It was a fairly typical awards show bit, except that when Brunson's name was read and she came up on stage, Kimmel remained there for her entire speech. "Jimmy, wake up, I won!" Brunson said, but Kimmel committed to the bit and never got up.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The joke quickly drew backlash online, with some at home arguing it was in poor taste because it overshadowed Brunson's big moment. "Jimmy Kimmel should have left the stage during Quinta's speech," HuffPost's Philip Lewis tweeted. "Highly disrespectful."

But Brunson herself didn't seem to mind, telling reporters backstage the bit "didn't bother me that much" and praising Kimmel for supporting her show — though she noted, "I don't know what the Internet thinks."

"Tomorrow, maybe I'll be mad at him," she continued, joking, "I'm going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face. I don't know. We'll see what happens."