Larry David Attacks Elmo on Live TV During ‘Today’

If you missed it this week, Elmo from Sesame Street knocked a few things loose inside the collective unconscious of the world with a viral Tweet. “How is everybody doing,” the muppet wrote on social media. Larry David decided to give his answer in person.

On Thursday’s Feb. 1 episode of Today, David crashed the set during a segment with Elmo and his father, Louie, deciding to try to shut up the red, furry creature with some good old-fashioned elbow grease.

“Oh my god!” you can hear Savannah Guthrie say, echoing her co-hosts minus the off-screen Al Roker readying his weather report. “Larry, you’ve gone too far this time.”

David can be heard shouting that somebody had to silence Elmo, while the muppet urges the Curb star to return to the couch and open his mind, heart, and spirit to him. Liberties may have been taken with that description, but it fits the tone of the segment.

Later, when David is sitting for his chat with Guthrie and co-host Hoda Kotb, he offers an apology to the young red victim of the assault. “Elmo, I just want to apologize,” David tells the muppet. “I’m really sorry.”

Elmo accepted the apology, but David wasn’t truly finished just yet. While he buried the hatchet with Elmo, he still had to address why he did what he did. During an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, he did just that and seemingly pulled a Justin Timberlake with his apology at the same time.

“Yeah, yeah. I did it,” David said in response to Meyers saying the clip is all over the place. “Elmo was talking. I was waiting to be interviewed, and Elmo was going on about mental health and I had to listen to every word. And I was going, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, I don’t think I can take another second of this!’ And so I got off my chair and I approached him and I throttled him! I couldn’t take it!”

And if you think he was getting soft with that morning show apology, think again. “And you know what? I would do it again!”

All of this is far from the mental abuse and anguish shared by many in response to Elmo’s tweet. People are depressed, broke, struggling to get out of bed, and fearful of the future without James Corden. Elmo offered a line to people and he quickly found out what happened.

“Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing,” he wrote in a response to the flood of tweets. “Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you. #EmotionalWellBeing.” The final season of if Elmo’s words of empathy don’t help.