Yesterday (May 25), Quinta Brunson – the star and creator of ABC’s Abbott Elementary – went to Twitter to respond to the overwhelming number of requests she’s received to film an episode of her critically acclaimed show about a school shooting after this month’s recent string of tragic events.
In a series of tweets, Brunson spoke about the misguided priorities of some people, telling them not to ask for “entertainment,” but to demand change from elected officials towards a flawed legal system.
“Wild how many people have asked for a school shooting episode of the show I write,” the Philadelphia native wrote on Twitter. “People are that deeply removed from demanding more from politicians they’ve elected and instead are demanding “entertainment.” I can’t ask “are y’all ok” anymore because the answer is “no.”
“Please use that energy to ask your elected official to get on Beto time and nothing less,” she added. “I’m begging you.”
Earlier this year, Brunson appeared on UNINTERRUPTED’s The Shop, and spoke about the balance between entertainment and touching on serious issues while creating Abbott Elementary. During the candid discussion, she said that she approaches the writing process from a comedic standpoint first, followed by the messaging. She said: “You don’t want to begin from that place in your creation, you’re hoping that when you’re making something, something organically comes from it.”
“For the eventual series finale, a school shooting episode to highlight the numerous ones in this nation,” one fan wrote. “Formulate an angle that would get our government to understand why laws need to pass. I think Abbott Elementary can affect change.”
Brunson understands the influence that comes with her newfound notoriety but feels that it is more critical that people go out and vote, and demand more from the politicians they put in office to change laws, rather than highlight traumatic events for the sake of entertainment.
“I don’t want to sound mean, but I want people to understand the flaw in asking for something like this,” Brunson wrote in response to the call for an episode about a school shooting. “We’re not okay. This country is rotting our brains. I’m sad about it.”