Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, has resigned from “Sesame Street.” But, it was not entirely voluntarily.
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In case you haven’t been keeping up with the news, Clash has found himself in the middle of not one, but two underage sex scandals.
The first case broke a little over a week ago when a 23-year-old man reportedly contacted Sesame Workshop bigwigs with the news that the 52-year-old puppeteer had engaged in a sexual relationship with him when the accuser was only 16.
On November 12th, the news came public and Clash took a leave of absence from “Sesame Street.” Clash released a statement in which he acknowledged being a gay man as well as having a relationship with the individual who contacted Sesame Workshop, but said that the individual was of age when the relationship took place.
The next day, the lawyer for the accuser issued a statement that read, “This office represented a 23-year-old man who was the subject of many media reports regarding Kevin Clash. He wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship. He will have no further comment on the matter.” It is reported that Clash paid the accuser $125,000 to end the scandal.
Clash issued a statement saying he was glad this “painful allegation” was put to rest and Sesame Workshop said in a statement that it was “pleased the matter had been brought to a close” and hoped “Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode.”
According to some sources, the accuser is Sheldon Stephens, an aspiring model who has had run-ins with police in the past. Stephens has since claimed that he was pressured into saying the relationship didn’t happen until he was an adult. He is now standing by his original story and wants to return the settlement money.
But, since then, another underage scandal involving Clash has popped up. Cecil Singleton is now suing Clash for an underage relationship – that occurred over 20 years ago. Singleton claims in his suit that he “did not become aware that he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects from Kevin Clash’s sexual acts and conduct until 2012.” Singleton is looking to get $5 million in his suit.
Whether these stories are true or not, Clash read the writing on the wall and resigned today “with a heavy heart” after 28 years as the voice of Elmo.
If these stories are true, then obviously Clash deserves all he gets and then some.
But, you have to wonder, especially in the case of the second guy, if they aren’t just desperate people looking for a big payday. And no matter whether they are true or not, the acts are considered so vile that many people automatically assume Clash is guilty just upon hearing about the cases.
The good news for parents is that Sesame Workshop has said the character of Elmo is bigger than any one person, so you won’t have to explain to the young ones why Elmo is gone or changed looks.