Larry David pissed fans off when he interrupted Thursday’s segment of “Today” by suffocating the beloved “Sesame Street” character, Elmo.
The clip showed Elmo and his father, Louie, chatting with hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin, when suddenly David went rogue and started beating up Elmo. The bizarre and seemingly unprovoked video has since gone viral. Fans immediately took to social media to blast the comedian over what many described as an aggressive shakedown of a family-friendly character.
The scene unfolded as Guthrie tossed the program to Al Roker for his weather segment. The camera focused on Roker, who began to speak, but suddenly, Kotb’s voice could be heard booming over his, as she shouted “Wait, wait, wait, wait.”
Roker glanced away from the cameras and toward the main set, as the camera cut back to the anchors. They all had a look of total dismay on their faces while David began attacking Elmo from behind the couch.
Kotb covered her face with her hands in total dismay.
Larry David beat the shit out of Elmo this morning pic.twitter.com/059ZVok35a
— elise (checkmark) (@Eschreinz) February 1, 2024
David had his hands around Elmo’s face, then pushed it down with his palm. He continued smothering the puppet as Guthrie shouted, “Oh my gosh! You love Elmo don’t you?”
David smirked and walked off the set.
“Mr. Larry, Elmo liked you before,” Elmo said as David departed.
Melvin could be heard saying, “Ask permission before you touch people, Larry. And he wasn’t alone with that sentiment.
The altercation caused an uproar on social media.
What a jerk. If that was supposed to be funny, it wasn’t! I’m sure a bunch of little kids saw that.
— Kathy (@kgmwd1) February 1, 2024
“Larry David beat the shit out of Elmo this morning,” one person wrote.
“This is child abuse,” another person said.
“What a jerk. If that was supposed to be funny, it wasn’t! I’m sure a bunch of little kids saw that,” said one social media user. (RELATED: Unearthed Video Shows Julia Louis-Dreyfus Swearing In Front Of Elmo)
“Someone tell him we are in 2024 and not 2002,” another said.
Elmo had a much easier day Monday, when he went viral after posting a mental health-check-in on Twitter.
“Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” he wrote. Elmo received loving reactions from fans across the globe for his caring outreach.