THROTTLED

Larry David Jumps Elmo on Live TV in Front of Elmo’s Dad

“Ask before you touch people, Larry!”

Comedian Larry David grabbed lovable puppet Elmo by the face and shook him viciously on the Today show on Thursday morning, while Elmo’s father Louie looked on in shock.

The “Sesame Street” icon appeared on the Today show to talk about a tweet that went viral earlier this week when the muppet asked “How is everybody doing?” on X, unleashing a barrage of responses about existential dread.

Asked Thursday how he’s feeling in the wake of that social media exchange, Elmo said he’s “really, really happy,” and “glad that he got to talk to a lot of people and see how they’re doing.”

One person was apparently not so happy, however. As the Today hosts started to turn to weatherman Al Roker, David crashed the set and grabbed Elmo’s face, apparently trying to muzzle him.

He can then be seen throttling Elmo with his full hand over the puppet’s face, appearing to make a swing at the shocked Louie, before striding away with a wide grin on his face. “Mr. Larry, Elmo liked you before!” the appalled puppet sputtered.

The other anchors jumped in: “Ask permission before you touch people, Larry,” they said.