The man who is the voice for Elmo on Sesame Street has resigned after a second round of allegations surfaced that he had a sexual relationship with a teenager.
Kevin Clash took a leave of absence from his job after a 23-year-old man claimed he was 16 years old when he had a relationship with Clash.
The man later recanted his story, saying instead theirs was an “adult consensual relationship.”
Now, the New York Times reports another man filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming he was 15 years old when he had a sexual relationship with Clash, who was 32 years old at the time. Cecil Singleton is reportedly seeking more than $5 million in damages from Clash.
In a statement on their website, Sesame Street producer Sesame Workshop says, “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 wants, 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.“
