Quinta Brunson says Black women criticizing ‘Abbott Elementary’ was ‘tough’

Quinta Brunson knows that Janine Teagues isn’t perfect because that’s the way she wrote her.

During a visit to friend Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, the Abbott Elementary star and creator opened up about the difficulty of taking in critiques about the show, especially when it comes to her own character.

“I’ll be real with you,” Brunson began. “She’s a Black character. Black audiences have so few representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is so touchy. So when a lot of women were seeing Janine not present as they wanted her to, that became tough — and I understand it.”

She continued, “But I think it’s important for us to have characters who are more realistic than they are the absolute best representation of us. I think it creates layers for us, not only on TV but in the public eye.”

Four seasons into its run, Abbott has amassed numerous accolades and a dedicated fanbase. But prior to its success, Brunson admits that she “wasn’t really thinking about representation” when it came to conceiving Janine’s character, but ultimately, “she became representation” anyway.

Poehler, who spent 7 seasons as the lead of Parks and Recreation, weighed in as well, pointing out that imperfect characters are often an issue for audiences when it comes to comedies.

“The interesting struggle about playing comedic characters is [that] you want them to be flawed and have stuff to learn,” said Poehler, acknowledging that it gets difficult “the minute people — either yourself or other people — start to get in your head about what they should be representing.”

Poehler added, “I think Janine was one of the most exciting things about that show [because]  you could see, ‘Oh, we’re really gonna go on this ride with her.'”

Brunson agreed, pointing out, “It’s hard to get people on the ride because they don’t know they’re on the ride. Abbott really started where I was like, ‘This is going to be a ride. This is going to go for seasons, I want to tell stories here.’ We gotta start somewhere.”

Indeed, Janine has evolved tremendously across the first four seasons of Abbott Elementary, exploring new career options, upgrading her wardrobe, and making significant changes in her love life. But not everyone has been pleased with Brunson’s choices, which she is all too aware of.

The Abbott star noted that thanks to social media, fans feel closer than ever to creators of their favorite shows… which means they feel much more comfortable approaching her with critiques in public. 

“I have had people come up to me on the streets and go, ‘I don’t like what you’re doing with Gregory’s character,'” Brunson said, reenacting her response of shocked silence. “What?! It’s insane!”

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Brunson said that the fan in question had already sent an Instagram DM outlining her issues with the show, and made sure to let her know.

Recalls Brunson, “She really came to me, in a club, mind you, very much like, ‘Oh, I’m so glad I’m seeing you. I sent you an Instagram message, I like how you pretended you didn’t see it, but now that I got you in person: I don’t like what you’re doing.'”

Watch Poehler and Brunson’s full conversation in the Good Hang episode above.