Lauren Sarner
Former “Star Trek” actor Wil Wheaton has gone on an explosive online rant about Larry David attacking Elmo.
On Thursday, Wheaton, 51, wrote on Facebook, “So I heard about Larry David assaulting Elmo on life [sic] television, but didn’t watch it until now, because I knew it would upset me. Holy s–t it’s even worse than I thought. What the f–k is wrong with that guy? Elmo is like, the best friend to multiple generations of children.”
Wheaton, who is also known for appearing in “Stand By Me,” “Flubber” and narrating the audiobooks for “Ready Player One” and “The Martian,” went on to say that in the “Sesame Street” universe, “Elmo IS A CHILD, who is currently putting mental health and caring for others in the spotlight. And Larry F–ing David … did … that? And thought it would be funny? What?”
“What an a–hole,” he continued. “What a stupid, self-centered, tone-deaf a–hole.”
Wheaton was referring to an incident on Feb. 1, when David, 76, stopped by the “Today” show.
The clip, which has since gone viral, shows Elmo and his father, Louie, chatting with hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin.
Guthrie, 52, then tosses the program over to Al Roker for his weather segment … though not even he could predict what would happen next.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Kotb, 59, can be heard saying as a dismayed Roker, 69, looks off-screen.
The camera then cuts back to the anchors, who are shocked to see “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator David attacking the red furry puppet.
“Oh my gosh,” cries Guthrie as David takes a swing at the puppet. “You love Elmo, don’t you.”
Following the scuffle, a smirking David walks off the set.
“Mr. Larry, Elmo liked you before,” the disgruntled puppet calls after the “Seinfeld” co-creator.
David later apologized during his own “Today” segment. “Elmo, I just want to apologize,” he said, holding back laughter. “I’m really sorry.”
The altercation left social media users shocked.
“Larry David beat the s–t out of Elmo this morning,” declared one user.
“This is child abuse,” slammed another.
And now, Wheaton is also weighing in.
He continued his Facebook post with a personal anecdote.
“Full disclosure,” he wrote. “At 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. 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.”
Addressing David directly, Wheaton said that the comedy actor and writer’s attack on Elmo “was not okay.”
“First of all, you aren’t even in the segment, but you just decided to barge in and draw focus because …why?” he said.
“You couldn’t stand that a puppet brought people together in a meaningful way that you can’t? You couldn’t stand that your appearance on national television to promote your wildly successful series was delayed for a few seconds while the adults talked about mental health? You wanted to manufacture a viral moment where everyone gets to see what an a–hole you are, so they’ll tune in and watch you portray an a–hole in the last season of your show that celebrates how great it is to be an a–hole without ever experiencing the consequences of being an a–hole?”
On SiriusXM’s “Literally with Rob Lowe,” David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” co-star Cheryl Hines, 58, defended him.
“That’s not on Larry. That’s on whoever decided to put those two on the couch next to each other. Let’s be honest,” she said.
“[David] has made a career out of telling people he does not care how you feel and does not care if he ever hurts your feelings. That’s what Larry’s built a career on.”
Wheaton, meanwhile, doesn’t “really want to know what raced through his tiny little mind” on the NBC morning show.
“And why there was no voice or person who spoke up to stop him from expression violence towards a children’s puppet WHO WAS THERE TO TALK ABOUT HOW HIS LOVE AND EMPATHY FOR PEOPLE HAVING A TOUGH TIME MATTERED AND MADE A DIFFERENCE….like, read the room, dickhead. It isn’t always about you being the center of attention. And understand what’s happening in the moment, f–ko. Understand that there are larger things in this world than you and your garbage ego.”
The Post has reached out to Wheaton and David’s reps for comment.
This post was originally posted by NYPost
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