Kevin Clash, Elmo’s Gay Puppeteer, Resigns From Sesame Street

Last week many were surprised when Kevin Clash, the man who for the last 28 years has been the voice and puppeteer behind Sesame Street’s Elmo, not only came out as gay, but also got embroiled in a sex scandal. 24-year-old Sheldon Stephens claimed he’d had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was only 16, something that he said was illegal as he hadn’t reached the age of consent (which in the US varies between 16 & 18 depending on the state).

Now Clash has resigned from Sesame Street permanently.

Immediately after the claims came to light, Kevin took a leave of absence from the long-running children’s show to fight the the claims and it seemed he’d managed to do that very quickly as a couple of days later, Stephens recanted him accusation, saying through his lawyers that he, ‘now 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.’

Although that seemed to have cleared the way for Kevin to return to Sesame Street, things have become muddied in the past couple of days, with reports that Stephens has recanted him recantation, and now says he was pressured into signing an agreement that he would retract his claims in return for a six-figure settlement. TMZ has reported that he now claims his initial accusation about the illicit affair with Clash were true, and that he would gladly forfeit the settlement in order to restore his name.

To make matters worse a second accuser has now come forward, with another TMZ story reporting that a 24-year-old called Cecil Singleton is suing Clash in federal court, claiming the two met on a gay phone chat line. The accuser says he was 15 at the time, and Clash was 17 years his senior.

The new claimaint alleges Clash “groomed [him] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money.” He adds that he believes it’s something like a hobby for Clash to troll “gay telephone chat line rooms to meet and have sex with underage boys.” The accuser says he, “did not become aware that he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects from Kevin Clash’s sexual acts and conduct until 2012.” and he wants $5 million in damages.

It appears this new development has resulted in Clash’s decision to formally resign. Sesame Workshop has issued a statement, saying, “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.”

Although it’s difficult to know the full truth of all this, it’s been strongly suggested this may not be the first time aspiring-model Stephens has had a relationship with an older, powerful man that ended messily. One of these liaisons is even said to have resulted in his being arrested after claims were made he’d stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewellery at knifepoint, although this never got to court. He’s also been arrested for passing bad checks and reckless driving. Little is currently known about Singleton.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what will happen to Elmo, he will continue to appear in Sesame Street, but with a different puppeteer.