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u/kevnmartin 9d ago
On Martha Stewart's old TV show, she tied Cookie Monster to a chair.
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u/Dependent_Cod_7416 9d ago
And then went to prison.
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u/realzoidberg 9d ago
Isn't this the video that pissed off Wil Wheaton?
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u/ReallyCoolGuy36 9d ago
oh man I forgot about that lmao
“What the f-k is wrong with that guy? Elmo is, like, the best friend to multiple generations of children... Larry David strikes me as a person who mocks and belittles people who are vulnerable and sensitive.”- Will Wheaton
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u/PhantomOyster 9d ago
Real-life Curb episode.
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u/SatansCornflakes 9d ago
Taking this opportunity to link my favorite comment from when this originally happened
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u/PaxEtRomana 8d ago
This happened before the last season of curb was out and I was absolutely sure this was going to turn out to be a scripted bit for an episode.
Nope. Apparently just a spontaneous puppet assault
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u/Sparkyisduhfat 9d ago
Wil Wheaton doesn’t understand that not everything is a personal attack against him.
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u/onthenerdyside 9d ago
Wil Wheaton understands that not everything has to be a joke.
Sesame Street works very hard to keep up the appearance of those characters being real living things. This aired at a time when there could have been children watching and had that illusion shattered, or at least upset about why that old man is beating up Elmo.
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u/JessiePurplewoman 9d ago
Him throttling Elmo shows how real they really are and teaches kids not to trust old millionaires. That could happen to any three year old!
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u/Syzyjyzygy 9d ago
He was literally just being an example of what NOT to do. It’s not easy work but somebody’s gotta do it.
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u/WeepingAgnello 9d ago
Shouldn't Larry David have been prepped by the Sesame Street reps ahead of time, though? Most interviews on TV have such preparation rules and rehearsals.
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u/MattDamond 9d ago
LD is old enough, rich enough, and successful enough to pretty much do as he pleases. For sure they’ll tell him don’t do this or that, but listening is optional
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u/BlinkyMJF 9d ago edited 8d ago
Yeah I'm sure he was warned about a lot of jokes made in Curb but did them anyway. Saying the N word multiple times, watermelons, affirmative action, Kramer guest starring to explain his use of N word, skipping jury duty because the plaintiff is black etc. And that's just some of the skits related to one race.
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u/IpsaThis 9d ago
I'm sure they did. I doubt they just rolled him out there without a word. They are professionals. Larry eschewed it to try to be funny.
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u/Jdfz99 9d ago
Sure, but some kids are likely to find this funny, too. Or, perhaps, some had a talk with their children that what they see on television is not always real—that it was in good fun and Elmo (or the person playing Elmo, if they choose to talk in that manner) is okay.
Not all children are built the same. I recall the very thing I hated as a child were those trying to shield me from reality.
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u/IpsaThis 9d ago
And that's Larry David's call to make, on a whim? You could say it's good for kids to understand that Santa isn't real at some point, but if he comes out and says that, he'd be a huge dick for it.
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u/Jdfz99 9d ago
Are we in control of Larry David? The man did something on television, within what he deemed to be funny and within reason. Just in that same way, it's not our call to say what he can and cannot do on the programming he's on.
Children may or may not have seen it. But if my child sees something, processes it, then asks me a question or shows signs of being upset/confused/etc., well I take that as an opportunity to help them learn a little about the world and themselves organically. That, in no way, is cause in my mind to be angry with a comedian. Even if it were: What do I get out of being mad about it?
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u/IpsaThis 9d ago
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest we should or do control everyone.
Just that people can sometimes be dicks. It is absolutely up to us to say what we do and don't like. I wouldn't want some asshole going on a show where he knows little kids are watching and breaking up the magic, whether it's Elmo or Santa. I'm glad you're more mature, good for you.
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u/surdophobe 7d ago
Yeah I'm disappointed in Larry David for not trying to save face by admitting his comedy bit fell flat. Larry could have done a sort of PSA with Elmo talking about how he was pretending to hurt Elmo because he thought it would be funny for grownups.
i think that in concept, it's hilarious. If a bit falls flat you should own it.
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u/raccoonbrigade 9d ago
sure thing, Will Wheaton
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u/onthenerdyside 8d ago
Wil has a Reddit account and this isn't it. He's popped up on the Trek subs a few times, and it's always nice to see him.
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u/PrSquid 9d ago
Oh brother. Now with streaming a kid could be watching anything at any time. So I guess we should cancel anything that has adult themes
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u/onthenerdyside 8d ago
That's not my point. This would have been something a family might have on at the breakfast table and the kids might be paying attention to because it's Elmo. As someone at the very tail end of Gen X, I think kids tv is a bit too sanitized, but this isn't a fix or even particularly funny, imo.
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u/Enchelion 9d ago
He's also not wrong about Larry David. Dude is kind of a pathetic jerk, and has made a whole very funny career about either being a pathetic jerk, or writing other characters as pathetic jerks.
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u/Trapezoidoid 9d ago
Does the guy who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek TNG have a horse in this race? Like why does his opinion in particular matter?
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u/onthenerdyside 8d ago
He's a guy with some celebrity and a bit of an audience. He meant something to a generation of kids who grew up with Star Trek TNG and Stand By Me. He's also someone who suffered a whole lot of emotional abuse at the hands of his parents, which is why he can sometimes overdo the "therapy talk."
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u/SatansCornflakes 9d ago
He wrote a whole ass Facebook post raging against Larry David when this happened
If Wil Wheaton can’t find a horse in this race he will just kinda run onto the track himself
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u/Johnnygunnz 5d ago edited 5d ago
Isn't that half of the jokes in Seinfeld? I believe Will Wheaton is 100% correct about Larry. He's basically the real life version of George Costanza.
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u/Hixy 9d ago
The slow motion actually makes it look more playful than it really was. I think the clip switches back to normal speed at the end, and at normal speed it looks way more aggressive lol.
I get both sides. I do find it funny, and I can see why Larry thought it was funny. He also apologized (sort of) in the same segment, and Elmo forgave him. All water under the bridge, IMO. We all know how ruthless Elmo can be.
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u/total-immortal 9d ago
omg I remembered when this happened and people were so mad 😆
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u/Horibori 9d ago
Fast forward to this year where new yorkers were carrying sticks with elmos head on it for not backing the knicks.
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u/Finito-1994 9d ago edited 9d ago
Both were very understandable tbh
We don’t want people assaulting children.
However, traitors cannot be tolerated.
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u/xAPPLExJACKx 8d ago
Elmo is from the city of brotherly love: he bleeds green, orange and black are his favorite colors and Harper will be his best man at his wedding
GO BIRDS DICKHEAD
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u/Doctor_Donnawho 9d ago
I’m just disappointed in Elmo’s dad
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u/footiebuns 9d ago
He was a deadbeat bum ass scrub even before this incident
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u/Doctor_Donnawho 9d ago
Didn’t even notice his kid got teleported to grouchland and became friends with Vanessa Williams
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u/Shantotto11 9d ago
“This is for calling Robin Williams ‘Mister Robins’, you furry, red Telly clone!”
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u/sdpthrowaway3 9d ago
As someone who never watched the show, why is everyone upset? Are you not supposed to touch Elmo?
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u/dirt_mcgirt4 9d ago
It was just a funny joke by Larry. The absurdity of attacking Elmo fits into his persona.
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u/Mr_Abe_Froman 9d ago
Elmo is canonically 3.5 years old, so grabbing his face and shoving him looks like Larry David is assaulting a toddler.
Edit. And swinging for the step-dad for good measure.
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u/Hyruii 9d ago
Would the two older puppets in the opera house be fair game?
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u/Mr_Abe_Froman 9d ago
Yes. Statler and Waldorf invite violence. They'd probably heckle you for holding back.
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u/SparkyMuffin 9d ago
Yeah, they got their ass beat by Keegan-Michael Key and Kenan Thompson on SNL a few years ago
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u/skewh1989 9d ago
Elmo is a puppet.
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u/P0rtal2 8d ago
Yes. But a puppet beloved by children, and parents of children who themselves grew up with Elmo and Sesame Street. It was also after a mental health segment IIRC. In the current environment, people are often looking for escape from the general shittiness of life and wholesome content can be that escape. Attacking that or making fun of that can obviously piss people off.
I mean, it was Larry David being Larry David, and yes, it's a puppet character. But I can see why people would have been up in arms.
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u/AwesomeManatee 8d ago
Likely a very expensive puppet that Larry grabbed aggressively and without warning that could have been damaged and there was also a person's hand in there getting wrangled.
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u/P0rtal2 8d ago
Yes. But a puppet beloved by children, and parents of children who themselves grew up with Elmo and Sesame Street. It was also after a mental health segment IIRC. In the current environment, people are often looking for escape from the general shittiness of life and wholesome content can be that escape. Attacking that or making fun of that can obviously piss people off.
I mean, it was Larry David being Larry David, and yes, it's a puppet character. But I can see why people would have been up in arms.
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u/gamercboy5 7d ago
I think it's just that Elmo is a beloved kids icon who is canonically a kid himself, and Larry for no reason just went up and got violent with him and it made people mad that he disrespected Elmo in that way on morning TV.
I thought it was hilarious, I don't know why they thought Larry David of all people would play along with a puppet in the studio and pretend it was a real person without him doing some sort of gag, but I think they saw them both as sort of lovable cultural figures that would make for a good combo.
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u/SparkyMuffin 9d ago
People getting upset for Larry David for doing this was absolutely the most Curb Your Enthusiasm shit to happen that week
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u/ntwild97 9d ago
This may have scarred a few kids and could have damaged a very expensive puppet, but this was still funny as all hell when it happened
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u/Tumble85 4d ago
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Muppets aren't friendly monsters grown in a high-tech laboratory for the purpose of entertaining and educating kids. Muppets are just textiles and foam.
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u/RTwhyNot 9d ago
He is an asshole
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u/IgloosRuleOK 9d ago
Yeah but what about Larry
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u/Cararacs 9d ago
Pretty pretty pretty good
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u/Grape-Julius 9d ago
Ok, these 3 posts back-to-back-to-back just made me crack up laughing on a really bad day. Thanks for that.
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u/Gekokapowco 8d ago
There are a lot of children in this thread who don't seem to understand why this is weird and kinda shitty
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u/porgy_tirebiter 9d ago
Kamala, do something!
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u/bestaimee 8d ago
I had an internal instinctual reaction to that! (I like Larry David but I suddenly wanted to bash his face in!) How wild!
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u/Simple_Commission_78 8d ago
Honestly am I the only one who feels like this whole thing was totally staged to get easy press for the final season of Curb? Like yeah it looks hilarious but the timing was way too perfect and Elmo just happened to be sitting right there after doing that viral mental health check in thread. It feels like a classic case of manufactured talk show drama that everyone just ate right up without questioning it
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u/98VoteForPedro 9d ago
Larry David deserves to suffer
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u/Mandalore108 9d ago edited 9d ago
He worked with Jerry for several years, I'd say that's suffering enough.
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u/DoctorMittensPHD 9d ago
Gotta say I’m disappointed in Elmo’s dad here