Aghast ‘Abbott Elementary’ Fans React to Quinta Brunson’s C-Word Shocker in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: ‘The Gasp I Gasped’

As a second-grade teacher, Abbott Elementary’s Janine Teagues is no stranger to four-letter words. But instead of “read,” “play” or “quiz,” The Gang from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia drove her to add a brand new term to her vocabulary: cunt. 

During the second installment of the Abbott Elementary/Always Sunny crossover on Wednesday night, fans were shocked to hear the typically wholesome teacher played by Quinta Brunson resort to dropping the c-bomb while describing her newly-minted archnemesis, Dee Reynolds. 

“It wasn’t until I saw the extra footage that I was able to realize just how much of a — I need to say a bad word,” she explained, getting the go-ahead from her on-screen beau and co-worker, Gregory Eddie. “How much of a total fucking cunt she was.” 

Sparking immediate confusion from her partner — “I thought you was gonna call her a bitch,” he replied in visible awe — the clip also startled fans of the typically PG-rated ABC sitcom.

“I also thought she was just going to say ‘bitch,’” one Twitter user commented on a clip of the scene. “The ga(s)p I gasped when she didn’t.” 

“Holy shit. Janine got me over here clutching my pearls. I wasn’t ready to hear her say that,” added another, while a third fan opted to quote Sheryl Lee Ralph’s character on a similar Reddit thread on the matter. “Sweet baby Jesus and the grown one too!” they joked. 

But where Abbott Elementary fans saw a break from Janine’s typically soft-spoken character, Always Sunny star Charlie Day saw promise. During a recent sitdown with Variety, Day got candid about the crossover’s sailor-mouthed moment, revealing that Brunson’s willingness to say the c-word convinced him that a collaboration between their two shows could work. 

“I remember writing that joke and being like, ‘I don’t know if she’s going to go for this,’” Day recalled of the original script. “When we sent it over, honestly, it was sort of the perfect test as to whether or not it was going to work.” 

Fortunately for all involved, the gag was a go. “We needed them to play in the same sandbox that we play in and willing and so game to do it,” Day continued, heralding Brunson’s “long career in comedy” prior to Abbott Elementary. “It was great!”