Savannah Guthrie called out Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David over his furious attack on lovable Sesame Street star Elmo.
The moment occurred on live television as Larry and Elmo were guests on NBC’s Today earlier this week.
Elmo appeared on the show with his dad, Louie, to discuss mental health and other topics.
They stood behind a couch on the set with Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, and Savannah seated there.
Savannah tried to send it over to Al Roker to give an update on the weather, but Al and Hoda interrupted her.
Al appeared on camera and said, “Not yet,” as he looked off-camera.
Savannah yells at Larry David for attacking Elmo
“Wait, wait, wait,” Hoda was heard saying, and the camera returned to a shot of the set as a loud commotion started.
Larry David was shown behind the couch with his hands on Elmo, viciously grabbing the TV star, who made noises as he was being assaulted.
Hoda put both hands over her mouth, and Savannah’s jaw dropped at the surprising moment. After the brief attack, Larry eventually walked away.
“Oh my gosh! You love Elmo, don’t you?” Savannah asked him as he was leaving the TV shot.
“Elmo liked you before,” the character said after being attacked.
“Ask permission before you touch people,” Elmo’s father said, even adding that a lawsuit might ensue.
“Larry, you’ve gone too far this time!” Savannah yelled at him from across the room as Hoda agreed.
Savannah and Hoda confronted Larry after the on-air moment
Later in the show, Larry had a sit-down interview where he talked with Today’s Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.
“Do you have something you want to say to Elmo?” Savannah asked, adding, “And from your heart.”
Hoda told the Curb star to “look at the camera” during his statement.
“Elmo,” he said, as the character responded, “Larry.”
“I just want to apologize,” he told the Sesame Street star.
“Elmo accepts your apology, Larry,” Elmo responded, as Larry laughed a bit more over the hilarity of it all.
Savannah told Elmo, “You are such a sweetheart,” before telling Larry, “You are not. You ever heard that?”
Larry appeared later on Late Night with Seth Meyers and spoke about what happened during his viral Today moment.
Larry is ending one popular show, but another could return
Larry is best known as the creator of the popular sitcom Seinfeld and star of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld was a smash hit on NBC with nine seasons, running from 1989 through 1998.
Curb premieres Season 12 on February 4, the final season of the humorous fictionalized show about Larry’s everyday life. The show has had extended breaks between previous seasons, but it appears this one is the grand finale.
“As Curb comes to an end, I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this ‘Larry David’ persona and become the person God intended me to be — the thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate human being I was until I got derailed by portraying this malignant character,” Larry said in a statement, per Vanity Fair.
“And so ‘Larry David,’ I bid you farewell. Your misanthropy will not be missed. And for those of you who would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at Doctors Without Borders,” he said.
While on Today, he spoke about the show’s final season, telling Hoda and Savannah they didn’t cut them out from this episode. However, Savannah said she wasn’t “falling for it” again.
And while one of his popular shows is ending, another could return in reboot form.
During his October 2023 standup performance in Boston, Seinfeld star Jerry Seinfeld teased that something might be happening related to how the original series ended.
“And just what you are thinking about, Larry and I have also been thinking about, so you’ll see… you’ll see,” Seinfeld told those attending his show, per USA Today.