Everyone couldn’t wait for Janine and Gregory to finally kiss on Abbott Elementary, except for one person, Sheryl Lee Ralph. She also revealed a very Ms. Howard-ish euphemism for Pound Town: “Zambohoochies.”
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On Thursday, Ralph opened up about what it’s like to work on Abbott at the PEOPLE x IHG Hotel & Resorts pre-Emmys panel. Her co-stars Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and William Stanford Davis rounded out the elite lineup.
After three years and two strikes, fans were on the edge of their seats for the season 3 finale of the hit comedy. However, its own star couldn’t stand to watch. PEOPLE reports Ralph revealed that the kiss between Quinta Brunson and Tyler James-Williams‘ characters made her cringe the most. The iconic actress and her beloved character, Barbara Howard, must have more in common than we thought. She doesn’t stop being the motherly figure on set when the cameras stop rolling.
“My mother’s eyes! I was just like, ‘I can’t watch it! I can’t watch it!’ I had to move away from the screen because it was like a mother looking at your grown children doing grown things. And I can’t see it!” Ralph unseriously said.
“I remember thinking, ‘They’re going to do the zambohoochies,’” she continued.
Do the WHAT? Please say we’ll get to hear the Emmy-winning legend say this next season!
If Ralph is the mom of the cast, it’s no surprise Davis, who plays the scene-stealing Mr. Johnson, often feels like the dad on duty. He recalled a favorite moment where Mr. Johnson’s sage wisdom reassured Janine about catching feelings.
“I think my favorite is in the episode when I had the scene with Quinta and she’s fallen in love with Gregory and I tell her, ‘It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry about it.’ It felt like I was helping my daughter. We have that kind of relationship. I love her dearly,” Davis fondly reflected.
It will surely (and a little awkwardly) be a family affair when the breakout comedy returns for season 4 on Oct. 9 on ABC.
