Posted in: Comics, Current News, Pop Culture | Tagged: elmo, larry david, wil wheaton

Comic Creators React To… Elmo, Larry David And Wil Wheaton

Comic book creators react to the Elmo incident, the Larry David response and the Wil Wheaton response to that response...

So yes, Sesame Street puppet Elmo went viral as a result of people's mental health responses to his character checking in on social media. He went on an American breakfast TV show to "talk" about it. Larry David, promoting his own show, Curb Your Enthusiasm had enough of all this puppet talk, and in a manner consistent with his own character, walked over and started to "strangle" Elmo. He was then forced to apologise with a passive-aggressive Elmo accepting his apology. It was a lot of fun, became a thing for a bit and died down… until Wil Wheaton, not promoting anything, posted online about how terrible this was, and how terrible Larry David was, and it all kicked off again. Here's how a few comic book creators and creator-adjacent responded to the turducken of muppet outrage…

Doug O'Loughlin: Larry David choking Elmo on a morning show is not something I had on my 2024 bingo card.

Christian Hoffer: I love that Larry David attacked a child in front of his father.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone: This dude literally sat back and DID NOTHING as Larry David assaulted his toddler.

Andy Khouri: I love that this is how Muppet fandom discovered Larry David.

Devin Faraci: I just have to go on the record to say it's good that Larry David attacked Elmo and it should have happened earlier.

Brian Lynch: Right when Larry David ends his show, he comes up with a plotline that would fuel an entire season: Larry assaults a beloved puppet on live television…  I'd like to see Larry David try that shit with Sweetums

Duncan MacMaster: Seeing the Wil Wheaton meltdown over the Larry David/Elmo skirmish made me remember how when I saw a puppet involved in slapstick violence as a little child, I laughed because I knew no one was really being hurt. I wasn't much more than a toddler, and I understood slapstick.

Mike Kupperman: Larry David must heal Will Wheaton by making a video where he makes love to Elmo.

David Avallone: Larry David strangling Elmo isn't even good performance art. It's hack. "Larry David is asshole" is "Dog Bites Man." Bring me video of Kermit beating the shit out of Larry David. THAT I'll watch.

Julie Benson: Things I've found out on Twitter: Show cancellations Deaths of loved ones Losing out on a gig Celebrity deaths Larry David choking out Elmo A3 Agency who repped me & @shawnabenson
shuttering… Wild.

Ellen Walker: Sorry to drop this into the ongoing Elmo assault discourse but does anyone remember when YouTube had a whole genre involving people shooting/blowing up/torching their Elmo toys? I think Barney got caught in the crossfire plenty of times too.

The Political Comic Nerd and Movie Buff: There is such a thing as being TOO politically correct and when these instances happen, it fuels the Right Wing's trash narrative about being "Woke" and "Snowflakes". Wil Wheaton's rant about Larry David is one of these instances. Truly. Even I rolled my fucking eyes.

Joyce Carol Oates: Larry David was being FUNNY. a FUNNY professional person will do FUNNY things. a WICKEDLY FUNNY person will do things that mock propriety, decorum. a SCANDALOUSLY FUNNY person will approach a violation of taboo. (risky!)

Johnny Malloy: Wil Wheaton, bro. I have PTSD and I'm very shy about bringing it up because people have it for much worse reasons than I do, not that I didn't go through some shit, but it could've been worse. You saw Elmo get "strangled" by Larry David. You're 50. Man up.

PJ Holden: Just a real shame Larry David never met rod hull and emu.

Devinfc: read the Wil Wheaton thing and coincidently I had just written a bit about my own PTSD this week. My perspective – my PTSD is on me, my triggers are mine to navigate. I can't make them anyone else's problem.

Rik Worth: "Elmo is canonically treated a child!" Yeah well, Larry David is canonically a man who ignores social niceties to an almost pathological yet comical level and usually ends up looking bad for it. Look, all I'm saying is multiverse material rarely makes sense.

Brian Lynch: It's horrible that Wil was triggered when Larry David struck Elmo. I sincerely mean that. You never know what is going to set that kinda thing off. I DO think Elmo rolled with the moment really well though.

Gail Simone: Just going to say I've spent a bit of time with Wil Wheaton and he was lovely, thoughtful and kind.

Doug O'Loughlin: Oh man, the crap he gets. I commented on his Facebook post and some guy with two aliases posted like 10 comments arguing the Elmo thing was all planned, it's crazy paranoia to think otherwise, 'what's wrong with you' . They disappeared in an hour, I didn't even have to block.

Paul Allor: Jeez, it's not like Larry David stepped in a flower bed!

 Grace Randolph: I think this perfectly captures the modern state of media and entertainment from every conceivable able, pro and con. Like, Elmo has just been trying to help people this week & succeeded then ends up a shocking yet brilliant bit to promote Curb Your Enthusiasm at his own expense. To be honest, I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's so perfectly Larry David's brand it's hard to believe it happened in real life. Yet it also feels like Elmo wasn't in on the joke and it therefore feels very wrong – shockingly aggressive and destructive of what was supposed to be a discussion of mental health for all ages. I'd also add it's very "of the times" that everyone trauma dumped on #Elmo earlier in the week & applauded him for his compassion & then many turned around and gleefully laughed when he was attacked for a comedy bit mere days later… He feels real to a lot of people, especially children, and he achieved something incredible this week that he was talking about on the Today Show – but then Larry David totally derailed that and now this is the conversation around Elmo

Rich Davids: Someone in the replies has pointed out that this whole Elmo farrago over the last few days is probably a build to the Super Bowl and now I see it I can't unsee it and god we truly live in the worst timeline don't we? Elmo's gonna be there solving Larry David and Peterson's traumas with a brand new Chevy and a box of wings for a 60 second ad and we're going to act like it's culture.

Wil Wheaton: "I don't regret what I said, and I'd say it all again, even if I hadn't been contacted publicly and privately by tons of parents who had to help their small children get through what they saw on live television, and my fellow survivors, who also experienced a deeply traumatic memory where people like the ones in these screengrabs saw something harmless. The single most consistent sentiment is disbelief that there were zero consequences for what that man did, and the familiar pain that also comes with that reality for a lot of us… Speaking generally and very broadly, The Men are clearly not okay, and I have no idea how to help The Men get okay. I do know that having Larry David as some kind of aspirational example for The Men clearly isn't helping."

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