On Sunday night, the TV version of Larry David had some image rehabbing to do. But in classic Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion, the latest offering in the 10th season of David’s HBO comedy saw his alter ego accidentally wading into even more problematic waters.
“This entire episode is an exercise in — how deep can Larry dig a hole?” Curb executive producer Jeff Schaffer tells The Hollywood Reporter, with a laugh. “That’s sort of a microcosm of Larry’s life: He’s trying to do something to save his skin, and he ends up doing something awful and he has to save his skin, and it just turtles all the way down.”
The third episode, titled “Artificial Fruit” — which was directed by first-time Curb helmer and co-star Cheryl Hines — set Larry out on a mission to reset his reputation amid a sexual harassment complaint from his female assistant. On the advice of his lawyer (Ben Shenkman), Larry makes a sizable donation to an advocacy group for sexual assault survivors in order to hopefully change the mind of Alice (Megan Ferguson), who has grown increasingly offended by her boss’ lack of boundaries in the #MeToo era. Larry also agrees to speak at an event for the survivors’ group, which is being hosted by transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox.
When Cox — playing herself in a one-episode appearance — first meets Larry, she opts not to shake his hand because she has a cold. For the hypochondriac at heart, this gesture greatly pleases Larry. But later, when Cox introduces Larry to the stage during the charity event — amid a room filled with survivors — he pulls away from her when she goes to hug him. Larry’s attempts to explain himself — “She has a cold!” he shouts to the crowd — are drowned out by boos and flying baskets of bread being thrown in his direction from the women, who interpret his physical reaction as being wildly offensive.
The bit, as Schaffer explains, was written with Cox in mind: “We had this idea about a transgender person having a cold and, as a result, Larry recoils from kissing them. It’s one thing to do it in front of one or two people, so we thought, ‘Let’s do it on stage.’ We thought Laverne would be perfect for this because she’s funny, she’s take-no-prisoners and she’s front and center for transgender people — not only in front of the camera but behind the camera with all the amazing things that she’s done. She’s a wonderful spokesperson for transgender people around the world. So, what better person to have Larry recoil from than her?”
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter