Some real disturbing news came out this morning about Sesame Street’s legend Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the beloved Elmo.
Reports surfaced, accusing Clash of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. The puppet master has confirmed a relationship took place, but insists it happened only after the accuser was an adult.
Sesame Street Workshop ran their own internal investigation and issued this statement:
“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, Kevin insists that the allegation of underage conduct is false and defamatory and he is taking actions to protect his reputation. We have granted him a leave of absence to do so.”
This whole incident happened when Clash’s accuser contacted the workshop in June and alleged that he had a sexual relationship with Clash seven years ago.
TMZ reported that Clash sought legal counsel from Andreozzi & Associates, which is the same law firm that defended Jerry Sandusky, but that report has not been confirmed as true.
I will refrain from making any comments until all the facts come out, but all I know is someone’s character is easier to tear down than to build up. Regardless of how this turns out, this scandal could potentially alter the 40 year-old Elmo character forever.
