Elmo Voice Actor Exits Sesame Street Over Allegations of Underage Sex with Teen Boy

[Bucky]

Source: Gawker Media

Allegations of sex with a 16-year-old boy have temporarily forced out the man responsible for voicing one of the most beloved Sesame Street characters of all time.

Kevin Clash, who has been the iconic voice of Elmo for the past 28 years, stands accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with an underage teen — allegations Clash denies.
Though he admits to having a relationship with his accuser — now 23 — Clash told TMZ the man was of legal age at the time. "It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not," Clash is quoted as saying.

Officials at Sesame Workshop, who have met with the unidentified accuser at least twice, stand by Clash, insisting that no evidence has been produced thus far to prove the claims.



Read more: http://gawker.com/5959706/elmo-voice-actor-kevin-clash-exits-sesame-street-over-allegations-of-underage-sex-with-teen-boy

---

Only a temporary exit, which the headline doesn't clarify. But damn, I'll bet this'll get ugly.

[haikugal]

1. I have to wonder

if the religious right is involved in this.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. I wonder if a lawyer is involved in this.

[Anthony McCarthy]

10. I'd suspect a lawyer was

but am prepared to see if they can prove a case he was underage at the time. Sesame Workshop says they didn't produce any evidence in two meetings, I'd guess they were trying to shake them down for a settlement and they saw no evidence to justify a payout.

I doubt the religious right was involved, since Klash said there was a relationship.

I will never understand middle aged me who want to have sex with people less than half their age.

[haikugal]

11. Thanks for your reasoned response

I agree to being mystified about why people get sexually involved with the very young.

In regard to my query about the religious right...it popped into my mind that any kind of evangelical 'born again' or 'sex therapy' could have been involved with someone so young. That was why I put it forward.

I hope this doesn't end up being a nightmare.

[customerserviceguy]

2. Clash is 52 right now

If the young man is now 23, and this happened when he was 18, wouldn't that make Clash 47 years old at the time of the "consensual" relationship?

I know I'd find it creepy to have a 47 year old teacher who liked to date an 18 year old teaching my teenaged kid...

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Creepy does not equal illegal. This could all be blackmail.

[hrmjustin]

5. I think the guy was 16 at the time. Some states have different age of consent rules, but this...

... looks horrible.

[Jackpine Radical]

29. Even if the age of consent was 18, generally

it's a felony under 16 and a misdemeanor over that age.

The real problem would be the publicity. It would cost him his job if proved, plus typically a fine and maybe 6 months jail time.

[4th law of robotics]

17. Creepy yes

But lot's of things are creepy but carry not legal weight. Like face tattoos.

If the kid was 18 (or 17 I guess in that state) then no crime has occurred.

[customerserviceguy]

18. True

But it might make a difference if someone wants to keep a job that potentially influences children. At least everything "Elmo" says on TV is completely edited.

[obamanut2012]

25. Consensual should not be in scare quotes

It was a legal and consensual relationship.

"Creepy" to some people is the beginning of a life-long marriage to others.

[customerserviceguy]

30. Until more facts are known

We don't know if the younger party was of legal age or not.

Besides, we have laws and rules that cover teachers dating students of consenting age, Elmo is in effect, a being that speaks with authority to kids, and the relationship is close enough to still be creepy, without quotes.

It can't be making the folks who produce Sesame Street all that comfortable right now.

[Posteritatis]

31. The fact is that the accuser recanted his accusation. (nt)

[customerserviceguy]

33. Thanks, I missed that

Still, I don't think the folks over at Sesame Street are too happy about this story.

[Poll_Blind]

6. So the accuser is claiming statutory rape after the fact? Sounds like a revenge play.

Just sayin'

I'm sure it'll all come out in court.

PB

[obamanut2012]

26. There is no court

The authorities were not involved, and a 125K settlement was requested, and apparently paid. Extortion imo. Nothing illegal happened.

[dlwickham]

7. the boy was of legal age

when they had the relationship

the title of the article is wrong and nothing but sensationalism on the part of the website

[jollyreaper2112]

8. Still sounds creepy

Man and boy sounds as creepy as man and girl. Though depending on how you define the terms, boy is prepubescent and young man would be post.

Of course, this sort of relationship as well as criticism of it is as old as the Greeks.

[onenote]

9. The accused says the boy was of legal age but

the story says he was 16. Based on my assumption that the sexual contact took place in New York, the boy was not of legal age (age of consent in New York being 17).

Of course at this point, its all "he said, he said" in terms of when the relationship (which has been acknowledged) began.

[mzmolly]

12. The accused claims the boy was an 18 year old man

at the time of the relationship. Time will probably demonstrate who is being truthful.

[obamanut2012]

27. The accused says he was 18

And, the emails he used as the "smoking gun" were written when he was 21.

[kickysnana]

13. Is this nasty, nasty setup on a personal or national level ? I will wait and see. n/t

[obamanut2012]

28. There's nothing to see -- it's over

[olddad56]

14. Elmo, I would have suspected the Cookie Monster, but not you. I'm clearly disappointed

[awoke_in_2003]

15. You have to be careful...

about the Cookie Monster

http://m.

[marble falls]

16. And all this time I thought it was Bert and Ernie.

[struggle4progress]

19. Man who accused Elmo puppeteer of teen sex recants (13 November)

The Associated Press
First Published Nov 13 2012 03:45 pm • Last Updated Nov 13 2012 05:17 pm

New York • A man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy has recanted his story.

In a quick turnabout, the man on Tuesday described his sexual relationship with Clash as adult and consensual.

Clash responded with a statement of his own, saying he is "relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest." He had no further comment.

The man, who has not identified himself, released his statement through the Harrisburg, Pa., law firm Andreozzi & Associates ...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/55270689-68/clash-sesame-elmo-workshop.html.csp

[struggle4progress]

20. Sesame Street star cleared of sex with underage boy (14 November)

... Puppeteer Kevin Clash, who plays the squeaky-voiced favourite, was accused of bedding the unnamed lad seven years ago.

He had said he was just 16 when he hooked up with then 45-year-old Clash - making a sexual relationship illegal.

But the alleged victim has withdrawn the claim - and told that he was an adult when he hooked up with Clash.

The show is filmed in New York, where state law puts the age of consent at 17 ...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4643625/Elmo-puppeter-cleared-of-sex-with-underage-boy.html

[struggle4progress]

21. 'Elmo' Accuser Recants Allegations of Underage Sex With Kevin Clash

... Clash, who is on voluntary leave from Sesame Workshop, issued a statement Monday denying he'd had an inappropriate relationship with his accuser.

"I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it but felt it was a personal and private matter. I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults, and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was," Clash said in a statement issued to ABC News.
PHOTO:"Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash poses for a portrait during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival to promote the film "Being Elmo" in Park City, Utah.
Victoria Will/AP Photo
"Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash poses... View Full Size
Elmo Puppeteer Accused of Sex With Underage Boy Watch Video
Behind the Face of Elmo Watch Video

"I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation," he said.

Sesame Workshop said it took the allegation "very seriously" and had taken "immediate action," but after an investigation, which included interviews with Clash and his accuser, found the claims to be "unsubstantiated." ...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/elmo-accuser-recants-allegations-underage-sex-kevin-clash/story?id=17710758

[Nye Bevan]

22. Apparently he was paid $125,000 to "recant".

http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1203699

[struggle4progress]

23. "... according to TMZ ..."

http://www.nydailynews.com/elmo-sex-accuser-paid-recant-report-article-1.1203699
nameless faceless "... sources tell TMZ ..."
http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/17/kevin-clash-settlement-elmo-underage-sex-claim-sheldon-stephens/

[obamanut2012]

24. No, he extorted 125K from Clash

It was a consensual relationship. Clash would have been arrested if it was rape, but the authorities were never involved, because the accuser was NOT a minor. The "smoking gun" emails were exchanged when the accuser was 21.

Notice the accuser didn't go to the police, but rather to Clash's attorney and TMZ.

[4th law of robotics]

35. I hope sesame street is more lenient than most employers on this

for many the accusation is enough to end their careers, even if it is demonstrably untrue.

[struggle4progress]

37. He's resigned, hasn't he?

[4th law of robotics]

38. I thought he was on voluntary leave

I hadn't heard that he had resigned.

If so that is just tragic. The guy did nothing wrong (ok, maybe with the age difference he was a little creepy, but still nothing at all illegal).

[struggle4progress]

39. Kevin Clash, Elmo Puppeteer, Resigns

November 20, 2012, 11:14 am
Kevin Clash, Elmo Puppeteer, Resigns
By ELIZABETH JENSEN and BRIAN STELTER

12:27 p.m. | Updated Kevin Clash, the longtime voice and puppeteer behind Sesame Street’s Elmo character, has resigned in the aftermath of allegations that he had underage sexual relationships.

Mr. Clash was first accused last week of sexual improprieties by a 24-year-old man who later recanted. That man has remained anonymous.

On Tuesday, the gossip Web site TMZ reported that a second accuser, Cecil Singleton, has now filed a lawsuit in New York alleging that he had an underage sexual relationship with Mr. Clash almost a decade ago. The report could not immediately be verified ...

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/kevin-clash-elmo-puppeteer-resigns/

[4th law of robotics]

40. Terrible

all for the "crime" of having consensual sex.

[Puregonzo1188]

32. The double standard here is because it was a same-sex male relationship. Therefore everyone

assumes the older party is a pedophile since we all know teh gayz are all child molesters. If this had been a middle aged woman and a teenage boy of legal age reactions would be completely different.

[Nye Bevan]

34. Well I think Roman Polanski should be in prison (nt)

[4th law of robotics]

36. The issue is that the accused is a male

same sex relationships between two women don't get this sort of attention. They get a lot of attention but usually of the "OMgawd! That is soo HOT!" nonsense, not the "string the sick bastard up" sort of attention usually reserved for when the accused happens to be male.

40 year old guy sleeps with young female: sick predator, hang 'em.
40 year old guy sleeps with young male: sick predator, hang 'em.
40 year old woman sleeps with young male: Nice . . . I wish I had a teacher/doctor/nurse/etc like that when I was a kid.
40 year old woman sleeps with young female: HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

/I'm not saying this is the correct response. And I don't agree with it. But that does seem to be how these things go.

[Puregonzo1188]

41. I agree with you summation 100%, but I do think there is also an edge of homophobia when it is two

men. People still conflate gay men with sexual predators--hence the "no gayz" in the Boy Scouts or stuff like that.