Quinta Brunson Admits Criticism of Her ‘Abbott Elementary' Character Janine Was 'Tough'
Quinta Brunson's mockumentary Abbott Elementary has amassed a great deal of success, but the sitcom hasn't received straight A's across the board.
During a Tuesday appearance on Amy Poehler's Good Hang with Amy podcast, the Emmy winner opened up about the mixed response she's received about her character, second grade teacher Janine Teagues.
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'I'll be real with you, [Janine is] a Black character,' Brunson told Poehler during their conversation. 'Black audiences have so few — still — representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is so touchy.'
Brunson admitted that it 'became tough' for her when 'women were seeing Janine not present as they wanted her to,' noting she 'understand[s] it.' The Abbott star and creator added that when she first conceptualized the role of Janine, she 'wasn't really thinking about representation, but she became representation.'
'I think it's important for us to have characters who are more realistic than they are the absolute best representation of us,' Brunson said. 'I think it creates layers for us not only on TV but in the public eye.'
Brunson is a triple-threat, notably creating, writing and starring in Abbott since it debuted on ABC in 2021. The series spotlights a group of teachers working at the Philadelphia elementary school of the same name. Overall, Abbott has garnered a total of 24 Emmy nominations and four wins, including Brunson's 2023 win for outstanding actress in a comedy series and an additional win for its 2022 outstanding writing for a comedy series.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian said she was 'very happy' about landing a fourth season of Abbott and that her team was in 'at a really chill place that I'm enjoying from a writing, creating and acting standpoint' following the joint actors and writers strike that shifted the show's third season.
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