Janelle James has a perfectly understandable explanation for why she interrupted her “Abbott Elementary” co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph when the cast recently accepted an award onstage at the Golden Globes.
The actor reflected on the “Abbott Elementary” cast’s acceptance of the Best Musical/Comedy Series award during a Wednesday appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”
James explained that she felt determined to shout out her mother at last month’s ceremony, and she admitted that she had enjoyed the event’s “free drinks” before walking onstage.
When Ralph took the mic after show creator Quinta Brunson delivered her speech, the actor began to thank their peers and viewers at home before James abruptly jumped in and yelled into the mic: “I love you, mom!”
“First of all, I was drunk, that’s one thing. I had been texting with my mom the whole time, so I was like, ‘I’m going to talk to my mom,’” James told host Jennifer Hudson.
“But not to be disrespectful to Ms. Sheryl Lee Ralph,” she continued before noting that she had a few drinks by making a drinking motion with her hand.
“Abbott Elementary” was a big winner at the Golden Globes.
Brunson won the award for Best Television Actress in Musical/Comedy Series, and Tyler James Williams won the Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series award.
The hit ABC sitcom won three Emmys in September. Ralph, who won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, gave a memorable — and certainly uninterrupted — acceptance speech where she sang a powerful a cappella rendition of Dianne Reeves’ “Endangered Species.”