The voice of Elmo thought the ordeal was over when the Elmo accuser publicly recanted his statement, but it has just been reported that Kevin Clash paid his accuser to do so.
The public was content with Kevin after his accuser, Sheldon Stephens, told Fox 411 that the entire story was a lie. Just as soon as they believed Elmo really was a good guy, however, the truth came out once again.
According to TMZ, Kevin Clash paid the young man $125,000 to sign a contract promising he would take back everything he said and claim that the entire story was a lie.
“Stephens agrees that immediately upon execution of this Agreement, his counsel, Andrezzoni & Associates, P.C., shall release the [following] statement … ‘He [Stephens] wants it to be know that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship,” the settlement read according to TMZ.
The Elmo accuser would even have to repeat something similar to that line whenever any one else asked him about the sexual relationship with the 52-year-old puppeteer.
Clash definitely hasn’t made his way out of this mess yet, especially now that reports suggest that the young man was pressured into signing the agreement and was even crying during the final negotiations.
When allegations that the voice of Elmo, Kevin Clash, had an affair with an under aged boy, he was forced to take a leave of absence from Sesame Street and was facing some serious consequences.
Elmo’s accuser claimed that he was only 16 when Clash began an intimate relationship with him, but Clash has repeatedly denied the allegations.
While the Sesame Street puppeteer did admit he had an affair with the young man, he also claimed that the Elmo accuser was an adult at the time and that both men consented to the relationship. He still has appeared to refrain from telling exactly what age his accuser was at the time and simply settles with saying he “was an adult.”
Things have been looking pretty bad for the famous Elmo voice actor… until now.
The public has been taking sides with the alleged victim of sexual abuse, but now it seems like Stephen’s may not be so trustworthy after all.
The now 23-year-old has a criminal record that suggests big scams to get money is nothing new to him.
The Smoking Gun reported that the Elmo accuser robbed a music manager that he interned for at knife point. He demanded the producer hand over $250,000 in jewelry.
Suddenly, the tables turned and the army of Elmo fans was ready to go against the jewelry thief.
“Good! The Elmo accuser shouldn’t have his I.D protected after such a terrible lie,” one Twitter user posted. “Shame on you Sheldon Stephens.”
Of course, it isn’t fair to assume that the entire story was a lie simply because he has a criminal past. It just means that his credibility needs to be called into question – but then again the creditability of a man who tried to pay his accuser to keep quiet isn’t all that great either.