Update (11/13/12): The man who claimed to have an inappropriate underage relationship with Kevin Clash, the voice of Sesame Street’s Elmo, has recanted his statements.
The accuser’s lawyer released a statement saying, “[The accuser] wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship. [The accuser] will have no further comment.”
Mr. Clash responded to the statement, “I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further.”
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Kevin Clash, the voice of Sesame Street’s Elmo, is taking a leave of absence from the show after denying rumors he had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old boy.
Sesame Street lawyers met with a 23-year-old man who accuses Clash of the incident seven years ago when the plaintiff was 16 and Clash was 45. Clash does admit the two did have a relationship but only after the young man was of legal age.
The PBS show released a statement saying, “In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a young man who alleged that he had a relationship with Kevin Clash beginning when he was 16-years-old. This was a personal relationship, unrelated to the workplace. We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action.”
After the release of the above statement the plaintiff “lawyered up” with Andreozzi and Associates, the same law firm that defended one of the victims in the Jerry Sandusky case. The law firm replied to Sesame Street accusing the show of trying to “discredit the victim in order to protect its employee and the image of one of its most valuable characters…This approach places a greater value on a puppet than the well being of a young man.”
The big wigs at Sesame Street have told TMZ, “Kevin insists that these allegations are false and defamatory and he has taken actions to protect his reputation. We have granted him a leave of absence to do so.”
“I had a relationship with [the accuser],” said Clash. “It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.”
