Despite his accuser recanting a statement that the voice of Elmo had a sexual relationship with him before he was of legal age, the AP confirms today that Clash has now resigned from Sesame Street.
The voice actor and puppeteer cites the “distraction” of the sex allegations, which doesn’t add up considering the recanting. The biggest question may be what becomes of Elmo? The character’s voice and lovable personality have been one of Sesame Street‘s greatest assets, so inevitably a replacement voice actor will have to take over. Sesame Workshop released the following statement:
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.
Earlier this month, the unnamed 23-year-old who initially brought these underage sex abuse claims to light said through his lawyer that his relationship was an “adult consensual” one – recanting the original claim. After this statement was made, Clash released a statement, saying “I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further.” Sesame Street added that they were “pleased that this matter has been brought to a close.”
Clash had announced over a week ago that he was taking a temporary leave of absence from Sesame Street to deal with the accusations. He also revealed that he is a gay man.
Elmo had been in the news in recent weeks for going on a New York radio station to comfort kids about the damage Hurricane Sandy had done to the area.