Larry David Attacks Elmo on Live TV During ‘Today’ Appearance

Elmo’s having a rough week.

First the internet trauma dumped on the Sesame Street icon after his viral post on X (formerly known as Twitter), and on Thursday morning, Larry David attacked the cheerful red puppet on live TV.

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The famously curmudgeonly Curb Your Enthusiasm star was waiting for his upcoming segment to promote his HBO comedy’s final season on NBC’s Today when he seemingly surprised everyone by walking onto an unrelated live segment featuring Elmo, grabbing the puppet’s face and mock pummeling it.

“Somebody had to do it!” David cried.

The moment was purportedly unscripted, with sudden camera cuts to catch up with the action and looks on the faces of hosts Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

Elmo squeaked out something in reaction that sounded like, “Mr. Larry, Elmo liked you before.”

“Larry, you’ve gone too far this time,” Guthrie chastised.

“I’m gonna sue him for assault,” said Elmo’s “father,” Louie.

After Kotb and Guthrie joined David in another part of the studio, Kotb asked David to say something to Elmo “from your heart.”

“From where?” David replied incredulous. “What organ are you talking about?”

Then David apologized, which Elmo accepted.

The exchange came after Elmo went viral for an X post earlier this week asking, “Elmo is just checking is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

Celebrities, brands and other users across the platform, including cynics, chimed in with their problems and despair. There were thousands of replies and they got so dark that the account eventually directed users to mental health resources.

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