Kevin Clash, the man behind Sesame Street's Elmo (and the subject of the highly acclaimed Being Elmo doc), is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old young man. While Clash has now taken a leave of absence from the show in light of the allegations, he denies the charges.

The accuser, who is now 23-years-old, recently met with Sesame Workshop's lawyers, who told TMZ that the accuser approached them in June, and "This was a personal relationship, unrelated to the workplace. We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action."

Clash and the young man began their relationship seven years ago, when Clash was 45—and while he admits to the relationship, he insists nothing of a sexual nature happened until the young man was of age. Clash says, "I had a relationship with [the accuser]. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."

The accuser's lawyers are from Andreozzi and Associates, the same firm that represented one of Jerry Sandusky's victims. They have accused Sesame Workshop 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."

Regarding Clash's departure from the show, Sesame Workshop says the performer "has taken actions to protect his reputation. We have granted him a leave of absence to do so."

and i really took a liking to him in that elmo doc.

and i really took a liking to him in that elmo doc.

You just know he used to do the voice as he was firing off a round.


Too soon?

that's not his fault, he gets to be a human being too.

whatever, even the biggest hater can see that this is clearly a ploy for money...

Yesterday news broke that Elmo voice actor and puppeteer Kevin Clash has taken a leave of absence from Sesame Street in the wake of allegations that he had sex with a minor. And things are starting to get ugly... now an email exchange between Clash and his accuser, who is currently 23 years old, has surfaced on TMZ. The email is from 2010, and reads (in part):

"I'm sorry that I keep talking about sex with you, its driving me insane. I want you to know that I love you and I will never hurt you. I'm here to protect you and make sure your dreams come true. I'll have my assistant book a ticket for you to come to NY and we can talk about this in person."

The email was sent from Clash's work account (which Sesame disciplined him for) when the accuser was over 18, though he claims he had a sexual relationship with Clash starting at 16. Clash maintains he did not have sex with the accuser until he was of age, saying, "It was between two consenting adults, and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was."

Meanwhile, The NY Post is running with the headline "RED DEVIL!," and yesterday the tabloid spoke to a Times Square street Elmo, who told them, “This won’t be good for my job.”

16 will get you 20.

I would have expected this of that Mr Noodle

Seriously. Though watching him play dumb and pretend like he doesn't even know how to touch kids would be hi-larious.

Seriously. Though watching him play dumb and pretend like he doesn't even know how to touch kids would be hi-larious.

The Mr. Noodle segment typically begins when Elmo has begun to think about a particular topic, when it suddenly occurs to him to consult with Mr. Noodle. Elmo will interject, "Let's ask Mr. Noodle!" and proceeds to the disobedient window shade, that Elmo eventually coaxes open to reveal the member of the Noodle family waiting outside the window. Mr. Noodle is then asked by Elmo how to do something or how to use something. Initially, the Noodle family member(s) will, in a vaudevillian or slapstick manner, ineptly demonstrate how to perform a task, play with a toy, etc. in a clueless yet playful fashion until eventually the correct demonstration of the topic is achieved.