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Quinta Brunson’s Mom Didn’t Understand Her Job Until Abbott Elementary

Photo: Showtime

It’s more than just “Mom not understanding your emo phase in middle school.” It is the classic child-of-immigrants dilemma: having to reexplain your nontraditional job to your parents. It happens to all of us, even the star of one of the best TV shows of the year. Actor/showrunner/meme queen Quinta Brunson’s mom “didn’t know” what her job was exactly until she worked on Abbott Elementary. When talking to Showtime’s Desus and Mero, Brunson shared that her mom “thought it was a possibility that [Quinta] was stripping.” “I showed [my mom] a BuzzFeed video, and she was like, ‘What is this?’” explained Brunson on her mother’s confusion about her career. “At least when my mom thought I was stripping, [she thought] I was doing well for myself. She knew I was probably making okay money. I flew her and my dad out [to Los Angeles], and she was like, ‘There is no way. You must be stripping.’” While Brunson’s career journey wasn’t like Hustlers, she made a name for herself, creating comedy videos and eventually joining BuzzFeed and A Black Lady Sketch Show.

Quinta Brunson’s Mom Didn’t Understand Her Job Until Abbott