Good News For Kevin Clash **UPDATE** His Accuser Has Been Revealed

47 Comments

1. 1
   Classy Drunk
   Posted November 13, 2012 at 5:43 pm

   Yayayayay!

2. 2
   sarcasatire
   Posted November 13, 2012 at 7:24 pm

   Yayayayay!!

   Kevin Clash is my hero. He not only voices Elmo, but also that jazzy owl that played the sax. Cooooool.

   Ha!! My captcha is “no_brainer.” ya got that right!

3. 3
   Jane and Blanche
   Posted November 13, 2012 at 10:27 pm

   honestly, I (jane here) think the sesame street mob got to him…. that grover will cut a bitch!

4. 4
   itchy
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 1:36 am

   A 45-year old having sex with an 18-year-old is still kind of, well, sleasy. He couldn’t have just bought a new sports car instead?

5. 5
   itchy
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:09 am

   Um. “Sleasy” = sleazy + easy. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yes.

6. 6
   Margaret
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:24 am

   Actually, I heard that the young man was only 16 at the time, so I’m still creeped out and will never be able to look at Elmo the same again.

7. 7
   Classy Drunk
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 4:38 am

   Yes Margaret, but the accuser recanted the story. Hence the YAYAYAYAYAYA’s

8. 8
   sarcasatire
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:11 am

   Hmmm… well, older men chase older women all the time. Heck, a 50 yr old man married a 16 year old girl and now they’re on a reality show.

   The thing I hate most about this is now he will have that shadow of suspicion cast over him forever for a story that was only out for 24 hrs. This man was trying to extort, plain and simple. No criminal charges were brought, he contacted Sesame Street directly. When they didn’t roll over, he got a lawyer, and the story was sent to the media. Then he recanted his story the next day. Hmmm… maybe he was offered a settlement to STFU because, lie or not, this would sully Clash’s reputation if it made too many headlines. Or maybe, his lawyers said they wouldn’t pursue due to lack of evidence. I’m sure PBS would have great lawyers, too.

   Either way, I’m happy at the result and hopes this thing is never again mentioned in connection with Kevin Clash’s name. As in, “Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo. He has had a great career that was marred when charges of sexual abuse were brought up against him in 2012.” Lets just drop it, media.

9. 9
   itchy
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:52 am

   “Heck, a 50 yr old man married a 16 year old girl and now they’re on a reality show.” — Well, those two are freaks. She embraces it and he’s one very creepy man.

   It’s always creepy to see a much older (usually wealthy) person with someone far younger. It’s not such a big deal, I suppose, if the younger half is in their later 20s –by then, they’re old enough to know better. But at 18? Nope. It’s just creepy. Makes me question both parties’ emotional stability.

   Last time I dated an 18- year-old, I was 24. And I felt much too old for her. And yes, creepy about it.

10. 10
    itchy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:54 am

    Caveat: I can’t stand Elmo. Ruined Sesame Street for me while my kids were young.

11. 11
    eyediosmio
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 6:10 am

    You know, I had the feeling that if this wasn’t a gay relationship, it wouldn’t have gotten as much traction in the media. Nothing like scaring the parents that the gays are all predatory muppets trying to bang your kids!

    Anyway, I’m glad the accuser recanted, and as I understand it Clash took time off so as not to throw any shade on Sesame Street. Which considering the circumstances was a good move. I hope he is able to come back on the Street soon, and is a little more discreet in the future when it comes to who is intimate with.

12. 12
    hot cawfee
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 6:36 am

    wow– my cap code is— “know your rights”

    So my right to free speach is: to ad to the YAYs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I think we kinda called shenanigans on the story, yes??? Not that the relationship happened but the age involved.
    The accuser stayed silent for a very long time– Elmo isn’t new to the world–my 19 yr old niece had an Elmo doll when she was 3.

13. 13
    anniedawg25
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 9:05 am

    My captcha says Get The Hopper Free Dish Network….jk, totally an ad.

    Im glad this dude recanted , that was fast….but Wtf? Was he out for money, fame, attention, or what? Its awful.

14. 14
    labowner
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 9:39 am

    I’m thinking the relationship ended and the youngster is hurt and does what some young people do, act out in rage. No different than a chick waking up next to a not so good looking guy she doesn’t (or want to) remember sleeping with and claiming she was raped.

    There was a story the other day about a girl in SoCal who claimed she was raped because she was afraid to get in trouble for coming home late. And the football player that spent time in jail because a girl falsely accused him of raping her? These stories go on for days. Tawana Brawley anyone?

    What is more frightening are the people who took it as the gods to honest truth Mr. Clash was a criminal/pedophile.

15. 15
    niknakflipflop
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 10:16 am

    I can’t help but agree with itchy on this one. I don’t like it. Even if the kid was indeed 18 at the time. I’m one to lift an eyebrow at such relationships and definitely frown upon them. It’s just not right to have such an age difference. I didn’t wanna date someone 18 when I was 20, why would someone that much older even be interested in someone so young? And still a child in my opinion. I just don’t like it.

16. 16
    sarcasatire
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Okay, labowner, your example has compelled me to share a pretty personal story about how these kind of accusations can affect someone. Your example about the girl lying because she didn’t want to get in trouble for coming home late…

    Well..

    When I was in middle school, on an average morning with my fam (my dad drove my bro and I to school) and my mom was still home at the time getting ready we had no idea how things would change in an instant. My dad drove us to school then came home (he was self-employed.) A hour or two after my dad got home, the doorbell rang. It was the cops. They arrested him right there in front of the neighbors, led him out in handcuffs. The charge? Child abuse. Some girl from the school on the corner (seventh day adventist school/church) pointed at our house (the largest and most recognizable on the street) and said she was dragged in there the morning before and beaten, which was why she missed school. The detectives came into our home and photographed every room. My dad had to stay the night in jail. In the morning, the girl recanted her story, because she couldn’t identify a single thing or room in our home, nor how he got her or how she was able to get away. (My dad would’ve been released anyway, mainly because he had an airtight alibi as we were all home in the morning.) So she admitted to her mom that she lied, they dropped the charges the next morning and released my dad, calling it a case of ‘mistaken identity.\ Ummm, no. It was a case of Bitches Be Lyin’! That was the real crime. Still, my dad felt like a shadow of suspicion hung over him. He felt victimized. He thought people will always believe a charge like that and to be handcuffed on his street was beyond shameful. My dad was a basketball coach for an afterschool program and he quit because he felt uncomfortable working with children, like he was being judged. He began to drink. It really affected his life because once a man is charged with abusing a young girl, it changes how people look at them, even if the charges are later dropped. I can imagine this happens tenfold to celebrities. For this reason, I take these things with a grain of salt because I know how easy it is to point the finger at someone and ruin their lives forever. Not to say I don’t have sympathy for victims, I do. But I am not quick to automatically condemn a man as guilty because that mentality has made it far too easy for false accusations to fly.

17. 17
    zerocool
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 10:41 am

    Agree with itchy and niknak. It’s still creepy for a 45 yr old to have sex with an 18 yr old. But glad it’s legal for his sake. He seems like a nice guy and Elmo is so beloved, it’s good to move past it for Sesame Street. Can you imagine if this news came out before the election?!? First Big Bird now Elmo LOL.

    Sorry about your dad, sarcasatire. That was awful.

18. 18
    crankyguy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 10:50 am

    The last time I had occasion to think about something like this was when I saw some woman on TV ranting against a hot, thirty-something, female public school teacher who had been screwing one of her male students. She said that the student was abused. HELL NO!!! He was not! Most boys of that age would love to have been in his position. Shortly after graduation from high school, a guy I knew was bragging that he used to screw one of our good-lookin’ teachers. I was jealous as hell. The only way I could keep from being consumed by envy was to tell myself that he was lying.

19. 19
    labowner
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Oh my farking gawd Sarcastire. I am so sorry to hear that. I am hoping some where in that less than human’s life she got some kind of come-uppance. Big hug.

20. 20
    Gypsy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    @Sarcas, very sorry to hear about your story. Thank you for sharing and giving perspective.

    @Crankguy are you talking about Pamela Smart? My cousin had her as a teacher. She is one sick lady.

21. 21
    sheesh
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    Some people are so awful.
    What a shitty thing to happen to your dad.

22. 22
    crankyguy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    @Gypsy, I don’t remember which one. There have been so many lately. I heard a comedian ask, “Where were all these teachers when I was in school?”

    And, yeah, I know it’s a double-standard, but I really don’t think any teenage boy is “damaged” by getting some off a much older teacher, unless he catches an STD or her husband beats the shit out of him.

23. 23
    Gypsy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    @cranky I saw that too! LOL

24. 24
    classy drunk
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:53 pm

    Such an elaborate story to skip school…

    Sorry to hear about that Sarcas.

25. 25
    crankyguy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 12:57 pm

    Little SDA girls should learn their Ten Commandments. I believe there is one about not bearing false witness.

26. 26
    labowner
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    One of my favorite days living in an LDS community was watching dad throw an orange at one of his kids because he was angry with her. They are not shy with the violence – at least my experience.

27. 27
    merry
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    I’m glad this is wrapped up. I thought when I first heard it that if this was really a valid case of statutory rape that there would have been more evidence, more supporting witnesses, and oh yeah, maybe actual police involvement.

    I’d bet anything that what happened was Mr. Clash had a midlife crisis moment (as many people do), had a brief relationship with someone way too young and immature, and ended it when he realized it was a bad idea. Sadly, because this ex was young and immature, he chose to try to get back at him by accusing him of a crime. This is no different than the ex or friend’s ex we’ve all known who keyed a car, tried to file a restraining order, made creepy phone calls, etc.

    Yes, the age difference is creepy: maybe Mr. Clash coming to his senses about that was one of the reasons the relationship ended.

28. 28
    itchy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    I can tell you one thing: if any of my kids’ teachers ever even tried to seduce them, they better hope to be put in jail before I get to them. Adults sleeping with children is illegal for a reason. It makes it even worse when the adult is in a position of authority. Any teacher who would have sex with one of his or her students is clearly unfit for the job — and probably in need of intense psychological counseling.

29. 29
    crankyguy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    @itchy, don’t be hatin’ on our young-boy-lovin’ hot female teachers. They spend extra time with their students and they make learning FUN! I never would have figured you for a prude. We agree on male teachers though.

30. 30
    Classy Drunk
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    @itchy…what if the teacher is 22 fresh out of college and the student is 18?

31. 31
    sarcasatire
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    Thanks everyone for the kind words. It was a really dark time in my dad’s life because, although he’d spent less than a day in jail, he felt like he had been tried and condemned in the eyes of others. Especially since, when it comes to child abuse, the knee-jerk reaction is to believe the child and blame the adult. Granted, she could not identify my dad from a lineup, she could not describe the inside of our house, she could give an adequate description of how she was snatched from in front of her school and dragged kicking and screaming across the street during the time of day when people are headed to school and work, yet no one saw her, nor she anyone. But, just by telling her mother she was kidnapped and beaten, when her mom found out she missed school, her mother called the cops and next thing you know, they were in the back of a police car, pointing to the only free-standing (detached) home on a street of townhouses.

    My dad (and family) were well known in the community which made his humiliation even bigger. He delivered Meals on Wheels to the elderly, coached basketball for the afterschool program, my grandmother (who owned two other homes on the same street) was a community activist and owned a day care that many of the children passed through (not the SDA kids.. they didn’t live in the neighborhood, just went to the school.) Anyway, as you can imagine, bad news travels fast. So my dad thought everyone knew he’d been arrested and everyone’s opinion of him had changed forever. So yea… incredible how people can lie. At least with Clash’s ex, money was a motivator. With this tween, it was getting away with cutting class! The absurdity of it all still astounds me..

32. 32
    crankyguy
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    @Classy Drunk, when I was starting my senior year in high school, my girlfriend, who was a year older than me and who had graduated from another school, had broken up with me over the summer and began dating one of my teachers. Awkward.

33. 33
    sarcasatire
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    @classy drunk: No Pretty Little Liars plot points please. haha!!

34. 34
    snowshoecat
    Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    @SarClassy, I am so sad to read about what your family had to endure. Unfortunately it is all too common when an adolescent panics and without a thought about the consequences ruins so many lives. Once an accusation is made it stays, no matter what the truth is.

    Temptation is an everyday obstacle for teachers who aren’t much older than their students. Hubbycat often points out that adolescent boys in particular are simple organisms made up almost entirely of hormones and it doesn’t take much to set them off. If a teacher happens to be susceptible, it’s a recipe for disaster.

    In Mr. Clash’s case, it is an all too publicized tragedy and I hope he recovers quickly.

    It is getting to be the holiday season, and I have to steel myself against stomping the stuffing out of the display Elmos that plague the ends of toy department aisles.

    Damn those things are irritating.

35. 35
    hot cawfee
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 5:54 am

    @ 16 Sarcasty— oh hon–wow….Your poor dad and your family. No matter what the truth is–People always think the innocent accused is somehow guilty–Sort of the “Where there is smoke there is fire” mentality.

36. 36
    Classy Drunk
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 6:42 am

    @Cranky, So did you see them out together or did they have lunch at school together or something? That is awkward.

    @Sarcas, UGHHHHHHHHHHHH please don’t get me started on how much I HATE that they glamorize that story line.

37. 37
    snowshoecat
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 7:39 am

    Several years ago a member of our group divorced his wife, which was understandable because he was a lovable goof and she was quiet and dull.

    Not long afterward he brought his new girlfriend to a wedding where we all stayed at a resort.

    Turns out his girlfriend had been a student of his and they didn’t leave their room very much.

    They married, but Hubbycat and I just kinda drifted away after that. We were just too uncomfortable.

38. 38
    sheesh
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 9:13 am

    I have a story.
    Maybe not related but TOTALLY related.

    I went to a Catholic School and we had a priest as a principal.
    There was one lady that was a cantor (she led the singing). Oh she was awful! Pitchy dawg!
    We called her Jellobutt. We would sing “Watch it wiggle…see it jiggle..that’s Jellobutt..Jellobutt…(then we would shout her name).
    We always knew something was going on because, really, why would Father H let her sing every Sunday. Even the adults winced.
    Well come to find out a few years after I graduated (yay me!) that he did leave the priesthood and married her! And he was oooolllldddd!
    Escalando!
    He succumbed to her siren song.

    Now that I look back it didn’t really relate but I wanted to post.

39. 39
    JudgyWudgy
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    Oh good lord. Where’s NotWithoutMyTV when you need him?

40. 40
    crazy rooster
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    My captcha was red herring- somehow I feel thrown off track by that

41. 41
    cbc-cca
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    VERY interesting article here: http://www.queerty.com/elmo-sex-accuser-is-an-alleged-model-with-a-very-real-rap-sheet-20121115/

    Seems that the accuser, Sheldon Stephens has quite the shady past.

42. 42
    itchy
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 2:18 am

    Interesting: France’s age of consent is 15 (and Spain’s is 13). But there are still restrictions against sexual relations with a minor by persons having authority over them (teachers, for example). And teacher fucking his/her student is always slimy — including when it’s a university professor/co-ed situation.

    But I too had a paper route with a hot youngish lady customer who used to come to the door on payday wearing only a robe…

    Anyway. Eh hem. Maybe Elmo and his young friend should have come to Europe on vacation?

    I don’t understand why people still have captchas? Just login in the field at the top (even though the site does log me out once in a while).

43. 43
    Classy Drunk
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 4:36 am

    I comment from home and work so it logs me out when I go from one computer to the other and I don’t realize it until I’ve already typed my comment.

44. 44
    sarcasatire
    Posted November 20, 2012 at 8:47 am

    Shit just got real.

45. 45
    sarcasatire
    Posted November 20, 2012 at 9:10 am

    Sigh…

    http://gawker.com/5962135/second-man-accuses-elmo-voice-actor-of-underage-sex-says-he-has-a-thing-for-teenage-boys

46. 46
    Gypsy
    Posted November 20, 2012 at 11:41 am

    @Nads and all:

    Just saw this:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/kevin-clash-resigns-elmo-sex-allegations_n_2165663.html
    No bueono

47. 47
    Classy Drunk
    Posted November 20, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    Terrible