NEW YORK โ "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" creator Larry David was his typical curmudgeon self on the "Today Show" on Thursday, including a spat with Elmo from Sesame Street.
Elmo and his dad, Louie, were talking about feelings and mental health after a tweet Elmo sent went viral this week. It was a simple question that led to a national conversation on mental health.
"Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?" Elmo asked on Monday on the social platform X.
Elmo's question received tens of thousands of responses as the internet shared their trauma with the "Sesame Street" star.
Apparently, the tweet struck a nerve with David, too. As Elmo and Louie were wrapping up, David came out and mauled Elmo's face while his dad and the hosts looked on in horror.
David did give a begrudging apology during his interview.
"Look straight into the camera," said "Today" cohost Hoda Kotb.
"And from your heart," cohost Savannah Guthrie added before David chucked and joked, "What organ are you talking about?"
"Go ahead and say you're sorry," Guthrie said.
"Elmo, I just want to apologize," David said before cracking up.
"Elmo accepts your apology, Larry," Elmo replied.
"What did he say?" Larry asked before Elmo shouted, "Elmo accepts your apology, Larry!"
"Oh, he accepts it?" Larry asked before seeming to mockingly copy Elmo's high-pitched voice saying, "OK, all right, thank you."
David explained later Thursday night on the "Seth Meyers Show" that he was triggered by Elmo's tweet.
"You were on the 'Today Show' this morning, and so was Elmo," Meyers began asking. "Elmo, one might say loved by all. You want to tell us what happened with Elmo, Larry?"
"Ugh, I don't know, I don't think ..." David meekly said.
"The clip is sorta going viral Larry, you can't hide from it," Meyers said. "It seems as though the 'Today Show' crew was interviewing Elmo, and you decided, before your interview, to walk on set and throttle."
"Yeah, I did," David said. "Elmo was talking, OK? I was waiting to be interviewed and Elmo was ..." before David started mocking Elmo's high-pitched voice again. "He was going on about mental health, and this and that, and I had to listen to every word, and I was like, '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."
"There you go, I couldn't take it," David added. "And you know what, I'd do it again."
David was also in typical form on the "Today Show" after being asked about one specific topic he didn't want to address.
"You told our producer, 'We can talk about anything, there's only one thing we don't want to talk about,' so let's start there," Guthrie said. "What do you think about Travis [Kelce] and Taylor [Swift]?"
"You've really got a nerve," David said.
"You bring it out of us," Kotb said. "We weren't going to."
"I've used the 's-word' once before on this show some years ago," David said. "I'm prepared to use it again in answer to that question, and I think you know it's, I don't give a ... yeah."
The final season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" premiers Sunday on HBO, which can be streamed on Max.
> Watch 9NEWS original shows, live Colorado news and weather updates, daily forecasts, and sports coverage for free on the 9NEWS+ app on Roku and Fire TV.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Entertainment
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.