Quinta Brunson now knows the story of Bon Jovi’s name, all thanks to Amy Poehler
The 'Abbott Elementary' star was recently on Amy Poehler's podcast 'Good Hang.' Clips of that episode have now gone viral.
Comedian Quinta Brunson, the star and showrunner of Abbott Elementary, made a hilarious admission this week when she appeared on Amy Poehler’s new podcast, Good Hang.
At the start of the show, Poehler asks friends of the guest for question suggestions. She turned to Abbott writer Kate Peterman, Brunson’s longtime friend from Temple University, who brought up Bon Jovi.
“Ask [Brunson] if she now knows if Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi are two different things,” said Peterman, who met Brunson in Temple’s improv group Fowl Play. “She asked me in confidence, like in a little whisper, she was like, ‘Are Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi the same guy?’ Like as if she had to go talk to him, and it was for no reason, and it’s so funny to me.”
When Poehler put Brunson on the spot during the episode, the Abbott creator immediately called out Peterman. “Shut up Kate, don’t go through Amy to do that,” she replied as Poehler laughed. “I don’t know white people. I know you, I know Tina Fey,” she said, chuckling. “I know white people in comedy … if they’re not in comedy, truly, I don’t know.” But yes, Brunson said she knows the answer to that question now.
(Fey, who grew up in Upper Darby, appeared on the first episode of Good Hang and is on tour with Poehler this year, with a scheduled stop in Atlantic City in June.)
Clips of the interview have gone viral, with one gaining 7.8 million views on X alone. Poehler compared it to the Keke Palmer “sorry to this man” meme, when during a Vanity Fair lie detector interview, Palmer didn’t recognize Dick Cheney.
“I actually think that’s also a wonderful way, like almost a gentle form of rebellion,” Poehler said. “My generation was told that we had to know a lot of these people and now we don’t really need to know them. It’s OK.”
To clear things up for Brunson, Poehler explained the origins of the band name and how the New Jersey rock star changed his original name, Jon Bongiovi, for the stage.
“You know everything you just said sounds crazy, right?” Brunson said. “And the thing is I’m supposed to know this, but then I’m supposed to deal with people who can’t tell me and Keke Palmer apart. Or say my name.”
Aside from Bon Jovi jokes, the episode featured the comics’ candid conversations about their own career trajectories and the ways that comedy can provide a special and spiritual connection.
When Abbott Elementary came to Philadelphia earlier this year to film for the second time in its four-season history — the finale, airing on April 16, features the Please Touch Museum — Brunson asked her very recognizable costars Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walters to avoid walking around in public.
She told Poehler that they didn’t listen and instead went to shop and get their nails done. But that led to a poignant moment with a fan.
“Philadelphia has a huge Muslim population, [and] we try to represent the city as much as we can,” Brunson said. “And we had an episode that featured a young Muslim girl in her hijab, and this girl was crying [and] came up to Sheryl talking about how much that meant to her.”
Speaking about the finale, Brunson mentioned that Eagles player Jordan Mailata came by the set recently. The diehard Birds fan added that this year’s Super Bowl LIX win was one of the top five highlights in her life over the past decade.