Larry David did the unthinkable when he appeared on the “Today Show” in February 2024. He attacked everybody’s favorite squeaky-voiced fuzzy puppet of love. The show’s crew was chatting with Sesame Street’s Elmo when David unexpectedly barged in and throttled him, then strode off. “Larry, you’ve gone too far this time,” Savannah Guthrie warned. “Somebody had to do it, huh!” David shot back. Later, Guthrie and Hoda Kotb asked David if he would like to say sorry. “Elmo, I just want to apologize,” he deadpanned. Not so fast, though! It transpired the writer was far from remorseful.
“Do you want to tell us what happened with Elmo, Larry?” Seth Meyers asked during a “Late Night” interview. “Ugh, I-I-I don’t think I want to talk about it,” David replied. The writer explained that he got sick of waiting on the sidelines, listening to “[Elmo] going on about mental health.” David said he snapped. “I don’t think I can take another second of this!” he said. “And you know what? I would do it again,” David vowed, laughing.
Not everybody was amused, though. “Star Trek” actor Wil Wheaton was fuming. “What a stupid, self-centered, tone-deaf a**hole,” he posted on Facebook. Wheaton explained he was triggered by the attack as it mimicked his dad’s assaults on him as a child. “Larry David strikes me as a person who mocks and belittles people who are vulnerable and sensitive and enjoys being cruel,” Wheaton opined.
