Kevin Clash, Elmo Puppeteer, Officially Resigns From Sesame Street
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Last week, Kevin Clash took a hiatus from Sesame Street to deal with an allegation he illegally had sex with a sixteen-year-old boy some years ago. A settlement was eventually brokered, paving the way for the Elmo puppeteer to return to work. Unfortunately, Clash was hit with a fresh allegation by a different accuser yesterday, and rather than turn Sesame Street into a mess of controversy, he’s officially decided to resign from the show effective immediately.
You can read the actor’s official statement in its entirety below, as per The New York Times…
“I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart. I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately.”
Sesame Street has remained in production the past few days with substitutes handling Clash’s vocal duties as Elmo. The beloved character will continue to be on the show moving forward, and the shooting schedule is not expected to be altered in any way by the upsetting allegations or the resignation. No decision has been made as to when a permanent successor for Clash will be announced, but there are reportedly several candidates capable of handling the voice.
Over the past week, it’s been tempting for many to make Elmo pedophile jokes or to reference President Obama’s vocal support for PBS. The fact is Sesame Street has been providing wonderful children’s entertainment for more than four decades. Neither the show nor the character is responsible for what Clash may or may not have done, and if we tear down Sesame Street in anger, if we stop buying Elmo toys and turn on his friends too, we will be doing future generations of children a great disservice.
TV Blend’s thoughts go out to everyone unjustly affected by this entire situation.
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Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.