Posted in: HBO, Max, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: Curb Your Enthusiasm, elmo, larry david, sesame street, star trek, wil wheaton

Wil Wheaton Blasts Larry David for Elmo Abuse, Sparking Debate

Wil Wheaton ("Star Trek" Universe) sparked debate over his post blasting Larry David for putting his hands on Elmo during NBC's TODAY show.

By now, we're sure you've heard about that weird moment that went down between Larry David and Elmo – with the loveable Sesame Street mainstay finding himself on the receiving end of an assault by the Curb Your Enthusiasm star while NBC's TODAY show hosts – Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker – reacted in horror. What made matters worse was that it all went down in front of Elmo's dad, Louie – who dropped a great line about suing for assault that made everyone a bit uncomfortable. Since that time, David has "apologized" – only to pretty much take it back while making light of the whole situation. We made our feelings known on the matter last week – and even now, we can't help but wonder how David would feel if a talk show guest did that to him while he was in the middle of droning on about something. But "Star Trek" Universe star Wil Wheaton was way more than just bothered by what David did – taking to Facebook to push back hard at the actor/comedian for his actions, the message it sends to kids, and how it reflected the abuse he suffered as a child.

"So I heard about Larry David assaulting Elmo on live television but didn't watch it until now because I knew it would upset me.
Holy shit, it's even worse than I thought. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Elmo is, like, the best friend to multiple generations of children. In the Sesame Street universe, ELMO IS A CHILD who is currently putting mental health and caring for others in the spotlight," Wheaton wrote in a lengthy social media post. "And Larry Fucking David … did … that? And thought it was going to be … funny? What? What an asshole. What a stupid, self-centered, tone-deaf asshole."

Early on in his post, Wheaton makes it clear that much of what he saw struck a never when it came to his own childhood and the abuse that he's spoken about in the past. "Full disclosure: all the time when I was growing up, my dad would grab me by the shoulders and shake me while he screamed in my face. He choked me more than once. He was always out of control, always in a furious rage, and always terrifying," Wheaton shared. "I'm a 51-year-old man, and my heart is pounding right now, recalling how I felt when I was a little boy who loved Grover the way today's kids love Elmo. So this appalling, unforgivable, despicable act hits more than one raw nerve for me, and I'm going to say what I wish I'd been able to say when this sort of thing happened to me." Here's a look at Wheaton's post – along with a follow-up message he added in response to some comments:

"Listen, if you're here to dismissively blather on about how I can't take a joke, or it was just a joke, or I'm too sensitive, or whatever else comes from your Bag of Invalidation, please just leave. A lot of us who had the same visceral reaction to a grown man putting his hands on a child (Elmo is 4 years old) in anger, without consent, and then laughing about it all share an experience that you should be grateful you don't share with us. And when you say your shitty little toxic and cruel thing, when you reduce the whole thing to a puppet and a joke, you're doing to us what the adults around us did when we were kids. And it hurts all over again," Wheaton wrote as an addendum that he included in the comments section of his post. "Are you really someone who wants to hurt another person simply because you can? Maybe take the impulse to be a jerk and redirect it into being grateful you have no idea why this is so upsetting to so many of us."

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