Larry David Explains Why He Attacked Elmo On Live TV While Admitting He’d Do It Again

Getty Image

By now, most people expect Larry David to figure out a way to violate common decorum whenever he appears in public, but he really outdid himself when he decided to assault Elmo on live television earlier this week—an incident he attempted to justify as only he can.

Larry David largely constructed his career on a foundation of questioning (and defiantly ignoring) social norms, and that strategy worked out pretty well for him when you consider he was the driving force behind Seinfeld before taking center stage as the star of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

That program is slated to come to an end this year following the conclusion of the 12th season, which will debut on HBO on Sunday. There’s little doubt the last thing the comedian wants to do is make the rounds to promote the show, but he nonetheless agreed to step by Today on Thursday to drum up some publicity.

He just so happened to join the program on the same day Elmo made the trek from Sesame Street for a conversation about the importance of prioritizing your mental health. The puppet already had quite a week thanks to the flood of responses to a tweet that he posted on Monday, and it took yet another turn when David unexpectedly assaulted him in the middle of his interview.

David sat down with Seth Meyers later in the day for another interview where he got the chance to do one of the worst Elmo impressions you’ll ever hear while attempting to justify his decision to lay his hands on a character that is canonically (and perpetually) three years old.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I was waiting to be interviewed, and Elmo, he 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 you know what? I would do it again.”

Vintage Larry.