“The View” hosts all had differing opinions about Larry David randomly attacking “Sesame Street” character Elmo on Thursday, with some saying it was like assaulting Santa Claus and others feeling like the move was “on brand” for the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star.
“The new season of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ hasn’t even started yet, but it feels like we’re all living in an episode right now after what Larry David did to Elmo on the ‘Today’ show yesterday,” host Joy Behar said before showing a clip of the now viral incident.
“It’s a puppet, folks,” Behar says.
“It’s a muppet!” co-host Sara Haines chimes in, correcting Behar.
“OK!” Behar replied. “It’s a muppet. It’s a puppet. What’s the difference?”
Bringing the focus back to the topic at hand, co-host Alyssa Farah admitted she loves David but was “very angry” at his move.
“If he had done this on Jimmy Kimmel or a late-night show, fine. This is the morning. I grew up in a house where you’d eat your cereal and you’d watch ‘GMA’ or the ‘Today’ show before you went to school,” Farah said, mentioning that Elmo already went through enough drama with people “trauma dumping” on him online earlier this week.
While Behar insists that David’s act wasn’t that serious since Elmo isn’t real, Haines stepped in to share that she’s somewhere in the middle on the matter.
“As someone who always defends comedians because I think they have to push the line, I was fine with the first part… It was so funny to watch that moment,” Haines said. “I think he could have saved it if he sincerely understood that Elmo is globally famous. Larry David is so funny and successful, but not everyone will cross paths with Larry David in their life. Everyone crosses ‘Sesame Street’ and Elmo. I thought the way it was handled could have been a little different.”
As for Ana Navarro’s stance: “I’m team Elmo here. I mean, Larry, qué feo, that was so ugly. Poor Elmo was talking — the entire thing was about mental health,” Navarro said.
“To make matters worse, he apologizes and mocks Elmo’s voice. What kind of apology is that?” Navarro said.
Wrapping it up, co-host Sunny Hostin said she agreed with Behar.
“He’s a comedian, and it’s on brand for him,” Hostin said. “You watch one episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ this is what you’re going to see. I will say that I am surprised Elmo’s dad didn’t punch him in the face.”
Both David and Elmo appeared on “Today” as guests on Thursday. During Elmo’s interview, David crashed the set and squeezed Elmo’s face and seemingly tried to punch him or Elmo’s dad, who’d joined him for the segment. David gave Elmo a backhanded apology afterward.
“I just want to apologize,” the “Curb” star said before laughing,
“Thank you, Larry,” Elmo answered. “Elmo accepts your apology, Larry.”
Watch video of “The View” segment below.