Last week the world of Sesame Street was rocked when a man claimed that he had sex with Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, when he was a minor. Clash took a leave of absence from the job to prove his innocence and by the end of the week, the accuser reportedly took a settlement deal and said that he did not hook up with Clash until he was 18. Then it was reported that accuser regretted his decision and once again claimed he really did have a sexual relationship with Clash when he was minor. Then it seemed like the story would go away until this morning when TMZ reported a second man filed a lawsuit against Clash claiming he had sex with him when he was 15.
It was too much for Clash to handle and he resigned from his job as the voice of Elmo effective immediately. The NY Times posted the below statement from Sesame Workshop on his departure:
Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.
Once this all settles down, I am sure Clash can find work at Avenue Q or one of those other adult shows with puppets. Although I am sure he has made some good money being one of the most recognizable voices in the world.
