Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who has been the voice of beloved Sesame Street character Elmo for more than two decades, resigned on Tuesday amid allegations that he had sex with underage male Sheldon Stephens.
Clash, who has denied charges that the sexual relationship he had with Stephens took place before Stephens’ 18th birthday – and has insisted it was consensual — tendered his resignation after deciding he could “no longer be effective in his job” due to the high level of controversy surrounding him and the case, according to a statement from Sesame Workshop, the full text of which is below:
Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.
Accusations against Clash first surfaced last week, at which time Clash took a leave of absence from Sesame Street. Shortly thereafter, Stephens withdrew his charges and settled the matter out of court with Clash — only to withdraw his withdrawal on Monday of this week, claiming he was pressured into recanting his claims and accepting a settlement.
Kevin Clash had been a part of the Sesame Street cast since 1984, and was the subject of the 2011 documentary Being Elmo.