Liberal comedian Larry David launched an attack on Elon Musk at a celebrity wedding earlier this year, equating his Republican affiliations with a desire to “kill kids in schools”, a new book reveals.
Walter Isaacson’s recent biography of the Twitter czar details how the comic Curb Your Enthusiasm chastised Musk for political views he expressed shortly before the wedding of their famous friends Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger.
Entourage muse Emanuel, 62, and designer Staudinger, 34, married last year in a sunny ceremony in Saint-Tropez attended by A-list guests including Emily Ratajkowski, Mark Wahlberg and Sean Combs.
Isaacson’s Elon expose reveals that Emanuel deliberately sat Musk and David at the same table to sow chaos because he knew their political views would collide.
“I had told Ari I wasn’t a big fan of Elon, so he sat me down with him,” David, 76, told another celebrity at the table – Joe Scarborough of MSNBC – according to the book.
Liberal comedian Larry David confronted Elon Musk at a celebrity wedding earlier this year, equating his Republican affiliations with a desire to “kill kids in schools.” (Pictured left: David at a pre-wedding dinner, and right: Musk at the ceremony)
Walter Isaacson’s recent biography of the Twitter czar details how the comic Curb Your Enthusiasm chastised Musk for political views he expressed shortly before the wedding of their famous friends Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger (pictured).
In an interaction that Isaacson describes as “a microcosm of Twitter” – a platform where high-profile people with polarizing views frequently clash – a “furious” David asked Musk: “Do you just want to murder children in schools?”
The 52-year-old SpaceX boss was “baffled and annoyed” by the questioning, and he gave the “stuttered” response: “No, no. I am anti-child murder.
Isaacson’s explosive biography of Elon was released in September 2023
David then asked how he could vote Republican if that were the case.
The Seinfeld co-creator confirmed the interaction to Isaacson and explained what prompted it.
“His tweets about voting Republican because Democrats were the party of division and hatred stuck in my stomach,” he told the author.
“Even if Uvalde had never happened, I probably would have talked about it, because I was angry and offended,” David added, referring to the Robb Elementary School shooting that happened three days before the wedding.
In the weeks leading up to the May 27 wedding, Musk, a former liberal turned Republican, lambasted Democrats on Twitter, which has since been renamed X by the Tesla boss.
“In the past I voted Democratic because they were (for the most part) the party of kindness,” he wrote on May 18.
“But they have become the party of division and hatred, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.” Now watch their campaign of dirty tricks against me unfold.
Musk predicted the statement would prompt a “dramatic escalation” of “political attacks” against him – although he appeared blindsided by David’s confrontation amid the sunny wedding in the south of France.
David is part of Emanuel’s star-studded clientele and he celebrated the wedding in Saint-Tropez.
Entourage muse Emanuel, 62, and designer Staudinger, 34, married last year in a sunny ceremony in Saint-Tropez attended by A-list guests including Emily Ratajkowski, Mark Wahlberg and Sean Combs. (Pictured: Ratajkowski at the wedding)
David is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. In 2010 he wrote a New York Times article lambasting Bush’s tax cuts for the rich—although he ended his article with a sarcastic thank you to then-President Barack Obama.
Until recently, Musk was on the board of directors of Emanuel’s company, Endeavor, the entertainment and media giant that owns the UFC and WWE.
Meanwhile, David is part of Emanuel’s star-studded clientele and he celebrated his wedding.
The marriage dispute sparked a lengthy discussion on The View Tuesday as the co-hosts questioned whether it was appropriate for the comic to confront Musk about politics during a celebration of love for their friends.
Host Joy Behar expressed support for David and said the comedians were “just saying stuff” and that he was “just taking the opportunity” to challenge the world’s richest man.
“How often is Larry David going to sit next to Elon Musk?” ” she says. “You know, the Republicans, every time there’s a school shooting, they don’t want us to talk about it: ‘Now’s not the time to talk about it.’
“Well, when is it time to talk about it?” And so Larry stepped up and talked about it. Good for him.’
In an interaction that Isaacson describes as “a microcosm of Twitter,” a “furious” David asked Musk: “Do you just want to murder kids in schools?” (Pictured: David during a happier moment of the wedding)
The Seinfeld co-creator pictured celebrating the wedding in Saint-Tropez on May 27 last year
His co-anchor Alyssa Farah Griffin retorted that it was “an intellectually cheap argument to say you’re a Republican, therefore children’s blood is on your hands.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to say that because you vote for one party you have blood on your hands,” she said.
“I think it contributes to the polarization between Republicans are bad and Democrats are good or Democrats are bad and Republicans are — try to have a more honest conversation.”
“There is a big problem to be had with Elon Musk about some of the people he works on.”
Co-host Sara Haines also called David’s question a reductive “gotcha moment” that oversimplified the debate.
“There’s a wide range of people who have nuanced opinions, it’s a complicated issue, and what Larry David did, what I’m witnessing here, is just a trap,” he said. she declared.
Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger got married in front of several famous friends
Ratajkowski kept it casual for the sweet wedding in a sheer pink summer dress with cutout sides and dark, black shades.
“There’s no way to answer that and, firstly, I don’t think anyone is in favor of killing children.
“So that’s just an exaggerated statement, and how do you then dive into what you believe, your stance on guns – because we only have two parties to choose from and sometimes they’re both a bit rubbish, so not quite as much.
“But to me, everyone has different reasons why they choose which party to narrow it down to, just if you vote that way, you have to be the one.”
The View’s Sunny Hostin agrees with Behar, saying AR-15s have “no place in this country.”
“If you vote Republican, I believe you are complicit in that, unless you actively work day and night to change that within your party,” she said.
“It seems to me that Elon Musk is a little more interested in his money. He is a little more interested in Tesla. He is more interested in the neo-Nazi platforms on Twitter or X.
“You really have to think about, when you align yourself with a party, what that party does for you, your family, your country, and Republicans, in my opinion, should be ashamed of what they do.”