Quinta Brunson opens up about criticism of her ‘Abbott Elementary’ character ‘Janine’

“I’ll be real with you: She’s a Black character,” the writer and producer said in conversation with Amy Poehler. 

While Quinta Brunson’s character, “Ms. Janine Teagues”, on her series “Abbott Elementary,” is integral to the beloved hit show, she isn’t beloved by everyone according to Brunson.

The 35-year-old writer and producer opened up about the criticism the oddball second-grade schoolteacher has received, particularly from other Black women, during a recent appearance on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang With Amy” podcast.

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

This microscope is something nearly all, if not all, Black characters have experienced. This week, fellow writer and producer Issa Rae has been facing renewed scrutiny for the authenticity of the characters and stories she’s placed in the world now that the comedy she produced, “One of Them Days,” has hit streaming.

Speaking to Poehler, Brunson added that she has been attempting to create characters where “the show doesn’t care what the audience thinks,” but that “was a challenge with Janine.”

The actress noted that she fully understands why some have the arguments that they do about Janine, but ultimately, it’s important to the creator to showcase a wide, diverse range of Black characters. Doing so, she expressed, further reduces the amount of restrictive or stereotypical lanes Black characters have been forced into in Hollywood throughout the years. 

“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 as she concluded her thoughts. “I think it creates layers for us, not only on TV, but in the public eye. When I was thinking about her, I wasn’t really thinking about representation, but she became representation.”

“Abbott Elementary” is currently in its fourth season, airing on Wednesdays on ABC and streaming on Hulu the next day.