On Tuesday, after weeks of suffering from allegations that he sexually abused underage boys, the voice of Elmo, Kevin Clash, announced that he has resigned from “Sesame Street”.
The allegations started when 24-year-old college student, Cecil Singleton, sued the puppeteer for more than USD5 million, accusing him of engaging sexual behavior with him when he was 15 years old. But Cecil’s story wasn’t the first.
A week prior to that, an unnamed man in his 20s claimed that he had sex with Kevin Clash when he was only 16 years old. However, he retrieved his claim the very next day by saying that their relationship was adult and consensual. That doesn’t change the fact that sex with a person under 17 is a felony in New York if the perpetrator is 21 or older.
In any case, being Elmo lasted Kevin 28 whole years, in which he branded and turned the furry little red monster into one of the world’s most beloved characters. Did we say most beloved? We forgot to mention that the “Sesame Street” character is also one of the most lucrative ones in toy stores globally.
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Sesame Workshop has since released a statement addressing Kevin Clash’s resignation stating, “The controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want. This is a sad day for Sesame Street”.
Who would’ve guessed that such thick controversies surrounded this childlike dream?
(Source)
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