Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Sesame Street‘s beloved Elmo for more than 25 years, has taken a leave of absence from the show following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male.
A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop said that a 23-year-old man reached out in June, claiming he had an intimate relationship with Clash that began seven years prior:
“We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action. We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined.”
It’s not clear when Clash will return, but Sesame Workshop indicated Elmo will carry on nonetheless: “Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of ‘Sesame Street’ to engage, educate and inspire children around the world.”
Clash told TMZ that he did have a relationship with the accuser but that it was between two consenting adults. “I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.”
We’re so bummed we’re not gonna make the obvious Tickle Me Elmo joke.
JOHN 1957
BBC news; A Sesame Street puppeteer has been disciplined over a relationship he had with a male teenager.
A 23-year-old man contacted the Sesame Street Workshop in June, saying he was in a relationship with Kevin Clash, now 52, that started when he was 16.
My view; Give us a break, It’s obvious the 16 year old at the time must of really enjoyed the sex with Elmo since he waited for seven years to mention it. If you ask me the kid was a little freaky to start with to have gotten sexually aroused by Elmo in the first place. At sixteen he may not be considered to be of legal age but he sure was ready to procreate.
What happened Elmo? He said he got a freak on every time he looked at my red fur and big nose!
I have to admit when one gets analytical about this one it just seems very strange on part of the now 23 year old. At sixteen I was already dating a thirty five year old executive and knew what I was doing. Could be he is now after money.
boring
The worst part of it that the article fails to mention is that all the sex they had was fisting.
LadyL
@boring: As soon as I’m done laughing I’m going to smack you! ;D
*
Seriously, 16 is a borderline age where sex is concerned. I know we’re all uneasy about adults taking inappropriate advantage of youngsters, but let’s be careful not to hysterically criminalize every May-September relationship. This may be a case of a young man who looks back on the affair with ambivalence and has now persuaded himself (or been persuaded to believe) that he was victimized. Maybe he is looking for a payday. Maybe he doesn’t know how to own up to his sexuality except to “blame” someone for it. Maybe Kevin Clash should stick to more mature partners, whatever their age.
tardis
If this is true, this is extremely disappointing.
Bob LaBlah
My personal opinion is this now grown man figured that if Penn State will no doubt make millionaires out of the victims of Jerry Sandusky then how much would the producers of Sesame Street or Mr. Clash himself be willing to pay to keep him quiet. The only mistake this now grown man made was not having a less than $100 dollar video spycam recorder somewhere on him to record Mr. Clash giving his little rump (at that time) a vicious tongue bathing. I have no proof of that and it is just an assumption to add interest to my comment.
People, we NOW live in a world where the internet is FULL of OBVIOUS teenage boys who are MORE than willing to sit in front of a camera in the comfort of their bedrooms and make hundreds of dollars in “tips” j/o, playing with themselves with large dildoes, water sports and having sex with their teenage and young adult friends. Some muscle twinks will wear panties, dresses, g-strings, jock straps………it is no-holds-barred. And by the way, ALL countries are represented, even CHINA. Trust me folks, there are there are HUNDREDS of these sites, with MANY of them free of charge due to people downloading and posting what they had these kids do or with the hope you will be dumb enough to log into one of tem and start paying for your fantasy. Just keep in mind, those on the internet who PERFORM are/were nothing more than young prostitutes themselves who took advantage of lonely men and other lonely teens who had the ability to pay. Yes, loneliness does not apply only to adult gay men. There are PLENTY of lonely teens as well. This is a lonely world we live in, internet be damned.
I do not see why a grown man would throw it all away for the sake of a dime-a-dozen twink, regardless of how cute, big……..take your pick. But that is just my unasked for opinion. Mr. Clash does NOT seem the type who would HURT a kid during sex. He seems like a gentle guy who simply made a mistake. I did notice NO allegations of drug use were mentioned. The only thing I read that made me wonder (and hope he did not) was use a studio computer to prowl the internet for the types of sites that I mentioned earlier. Beware of these sites. Many of them are set up INTENTIONALLY to hack into your computer and get your personal information. People who pay for porn and sex on the internet do so by credit card and hackers know this.
tdx3fan
@Bob LaBlah: Your apologizing and blaming the victim is sick and disgusting. I have no idea about such sites because I have no desire to have any idea about them. You really need to get a grasp because you sound just like that Catholic Bishop that blamed the young alter boys for seducing the older popes. The thing is, 16 year old kids are horny and will do anything for sex, and the money is even a bigger turn on for many. That is why ADULTS are ADULT and should KNOW BETTER than a 16 year old kid. It is a CRIME because adults SHOULD know better than to act solely off of their hormones.
Bob LaBlah
@tdx3fan: Go on…Go on……Why stop at when they are adults? What were they doing when they were “kids”? I stand by my assesment. In todays society, kids are influenced (sadly) by two things…Beauty and money.
In the gay world, those two things are muscle and money. They (the majority) tend to think less of themselves without both.
I make NO APOLOGIES FOR NO ONE OR NOTHING. I ONLY GAVE MY UNASKED FOR OPINION AS DID YOU.
You are free to babble all you want about adults knowing better but when twinkie goes to the owner of a bar, strips down to his g-string and makes a dance audition on the stage is the owner of the bar wrong for figuring how this twenty-something bubble-butt little twerp is going to pack’em in once it gets out he is shakinging his rump in his bar? I don’t think so. It’s called capitalism and it keeps the lights on, th rent,employees and other bills paid (as in the owners overhead that has nothing to do with the bar but why he went into business in the first place). It is what people DO pay to see and the owner is providing it.
You are free to say I am blaming the “victims” but I stand by my assesment that these “kids” KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND COULD CARE LESS. We live in a society NOW where even if their peers in high school knew (or discovered)what they were doing THEY would not give one flying fuck because of the money they are making and in less than three days KNOW ONE WHO FOUND OUT WOULD GIVE A FLYING FUCK. How’s that for “victim”?
Queen get real. That “kid” is NOW after money, case closed. Discussion over.
Freddie27
1.Why is this a gay news story?
2. In 30 states, 16 is the legal age of consent. As bizarre as it might seem to us, the relationship should not be illegal. 16 year olds are mentally competent enough, in my view, to consent to sexual relations. Why a pubescent teenage boy is attractive is beyond me though…
gppm1103
@Bob LaBlah: I agree. 16 is not 9 or 10. If this kid were so traumatized why bring it up now. He is after money. Poor judgement by Clash? Yes, but not criminal, and what if he is being put up to this by someone who sees dollar signs?