His exit comes amid new allegations of sexual relationship with a minor
Kevin Clash has resigned from television's Sesame Street after 28 years.
The openly gay actor, best known for performing as Elmo but also did such characters as Baby Sinclair and Clifford, steps down as a second man is alleging they had a sexual relationship when the accuser was a minor.
Sesame Street Workshop, which employs Clash, described it as 'a sad day.'
'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, they said in a statement.
Cecil Singleton, 24, has filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court in New York City in which he claims to have had a sexual relationship with Clash after they met on a gay telephone chat line in 2003.
Singleton did not file suit until now because the 'adverse psychological and emotional effects' he suffered did not become apparent until this year, according to a report on TMZ.com.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of allegations by a man named Sheldon Stephens, 23, who says he had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was just 16.
Stephens later recanted his allegations amid a reported settlement of $125,000 but has since said he wants to take back the recanting and stick to his original story.
Clash had maintained that the relationship with Stephens was between two consenting adults and said he was 'deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.'
Bloggers Update: An update of the current situation dealing with Kevin Clash. As of this time no charges have been brought against him. But it is just sad to see this case developing into something that could be really bad. We'll keep people updated.
The openly gay actor, best known for performing as Elmo but also did such characters as Baby Sinclair and Clifford, steps down as a second man is alleging they had a sexual relationship when the accuser was a minor.
Sesame Street Workshop, which employs Clash, described it as 'a sad day.'
'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, they said in a statement.
Cecil Singleton, 24, has filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court in New York City in which he claims to have had a sexual relationship with Clash after they met on a gay telephone chat line in 2003.
Singleton did not file suit until now because the 'adverse psychological and emotional effects' he suffered did not become apparent until this year, according to a report on TMZ.com.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of allegations by a man named Sheldon Stephens, 23, who says he had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was just 16.
Stephens later recanted his allegations amid a reported settlement of $125,000 but has since said he wants to take back the recanting and stick to his original story.
Clash had maintained that the relationship with Stephens was between two consenting adults and said he was 'deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.'
Bloggers Update: An update of the current situation dealing with Kevin Clash. As of this time no charges have been brought against him. But it is just sad to see this case developing into something that could be really bad. We'll keep people updated.
No comments:
Post a Comment