Elmo Puppeteer Hit With New Teen Sex Allegation

Third man claims he had sex with Kevin Clash when he was 16.

A third man in as many weeks has accused the man behind the voice of "Sesame Street's" Elmo of having sex with him as a teen.

The now 29-year-old accuser says that he and Clash met in a gay online chat room in 2000 where, the man says, Clash identified himself as a 30-year-old man named "Craig."

The man who has filed a lawsuit under the name "John Doe" goes on to say that Clash invited him to his apartment which is when he realized that "Craig" was older than he said he was and that Clash in turn realized that he was still a teen. Regardless, "John Doe" claims that he and Clash engaged in "some sexual activity."

Lawyers for Clash say that the allegations have no merit.

Clash resigned from "Sesame Street" last week amid allegations that he had sex with two other underage boys.

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Kevin Clash Scandal: Cash Further Muddies Water

Settlement talks threaten the fight against child sex abuse -- or clearing the accused

“Not Elmo!”

That about sums up most reaction to the underage sex allegations against "Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash, who on Tuesday amid growing scandal, announced he was resigning, after decades as the voice of the beloved Muppet.

The few available details surrounding the 52-year-old Clash’s alleged relationship with at least one of his now two young male accusers, and a supposed settlement for that accuser’s silence, indicate that this is yet another case of “powerful public figure” versus “troubled victim.”

Michael Jackson versus disadvantaged boys. Bishop Eddie Long versus his juvenile “fellows.” And now Clash versus his accusers, 24-year-old aspiring model and alleged armed robber Sheldon Stephens and 30-something Cecil Singleton, both alleging they had sex with Clash at ages 16 and 15, respectively.

In all of these types of cases, the truth was and is certain to be hard to prove. And news of financial settlements in each of the earlier cases only perpetuated public doubt that the accusers were telling the complete truth -- and that their rich and influential alleged abusers did not indeed have something to hide. It seems, at least morally, when it comes to high profile sex-related scandals, justice for sex abuse victims is far less important than swift civil settlements and protection of the brands – a music career, a church ministry or a beloved children’s program.

This is by no means a wholesale indictment of the above-mentioned accusers or the accused. But financial settlements seem to insinuate that neither side is willing to stand firm on the complete truth. And not being completely honest from the beginning seems to hurt both sides. And for victims of child sexual abuse, the truth -- and issues surrounding the telling of it -- can be a complicated thing.

“The problem is you can get a check as big the world, but there’s no place to cash it and get your childhood back,” said Curtis St. John, a spokesman for MaleSurvivor.org, a group dedicated to helping male survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

St. John, a survivor himself, says victims aren’t simply susceptible to lawyers beckoning them to the often-lucrative negotiating table. He believes the public gets the wrong message in cases where there is a settlement, because too little is understood about the healing process for victims.

“Survivors are desperate to be believed,” St. John said in a phone interview. “People who are early in their recovery definitely want something to hold on to. Money makes you feel better at first, but it’s not going to solve your problem.”

Statistically, male survivors of sexual abuse so rarely come forward and if they do, they come forward later in their lives. That appears to be the case for Clash’s accusers.

Elmo Puppeteer’s Accuser Recants Story of Underage Sex

Kevin Clash says he will have no further comment on the matter

The 23-year-old man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having underage sex with him has recanted his story. On Tuesday, the unidentified man said his relationship with Clash was consensual and occurred when he was an adult. The turnabout came just days after Clash decided to take a leave of absence from his job at “Sesame Street” to deal with the defamatory allegation. Clash said he was “relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest” and that he would have no further comment. But for some, the damage has already been done to the reputation of the beloved "Sesame Street" character and the man behind it, who had never publicly come out as gay. Sesame Workshop, which produces the award-winning kids show in New York, released a statement in support of Clash. “We are happy that Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode.” (Associated Press)

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'Elmo' Puppeteer Accused Of Having Relationship With Juvenile

Kevin Clash denies claim, but admits to relationship with man when he was an adult.

Kevin Clash, the man who created the popular Sesame Street character "Elmo" has taken a leave of absence from the show amid claims that he had a relationship with a 16-year old boy.

Clash denies the accusation, but admits to having a relationship with the accuser, but only when he was an adult.

TMZ reports:

In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a young man who alleged that he had a relationship with Kevin Clash beginning when he was 16-years-old.  This was a personal relationship, unrelated to the workplace. We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action."

Sesame Workshop officials acknowledge to TMZ they met with the accuser twice and had a number of other communications with him.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... after the accuser's initial meeting with Sesame Street, the accuser felt Sesame Workshop's lawyers were trying to muzzle him ... so he lawyered up with Andreozzi and Associates -- the firm that represented one of the victims in the Jerry Sandusky child rape case.

"I had a relationship with [the accuser]," says Clash. "It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."

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Sesame Street Asking Obama Campaign to Stop Running Big Bird Ad

Children’s program says it is a nonpartisan organization and does not endorse candidates

An Obama campaign ad mocking Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for singling out the public broadcaster that distributes Sesame Street for spending cuts has ruffled feathers. The creators of Big Bird, who is featured in the ad, have asked the president’s camp to pull it from the air out of concern that they would be seen as anything other than a nonpartisan organization. "We do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," Sesame Workshop said in a statement. “"We have approved no campaign ads and, as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down." An Obama campaign spokesperson said the campaign was considering the request. Republicans (and some Democrats) were heard criticizing the Obama campaign for its decision to harp on Romney’s presidential debate comment for last week. "I just find it troubling that the president's message, the president's focus [27] days from Election Day, is Big Bird," Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said on Tuesday. (BBC News)

[SEE: The Big Bird Ad]

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Big Bird Debuts In Obama Campaign Attack Ad

Campaign playing up Romney's promise to defund PBS subsidy in last week debate

The Obama campaign hopes to warn voters of a "big, yellow... menace to our economy." Big Bird, that is. On Monday night, the president's campaign release a new television ad mocking Mitt Romney's promise to cut funds for the Public Broadcasting System, which has carried the beloved "Sesame Street" children's program for more than four decades. "You would need to cut PBS more than 1,000 times to fill the hole in Romney’s budget promises!" said a statement announcing the release of the campaign ad. View video of the ad in the player above.

[MORE OF LOOP 21'S DEBATE COVERAGE]

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Debating the Truth

From Big Bird to boldfaced lies, the first presidential debate proves we need to educate ourselves during this election cycle.

Watching debates are always more than a little stressful to me. I get wrapped up in the rhetoric, angry with ineffective moderators, and pissed off by the half-truths and straight up lies. So of course last night’s debate had me turned up to eleven. Here are my top takeaways:

Folks really love Sesame Street. When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that he would wipe out the deficit by getting rid of the famous kids’ show, which has been running on public television since 1969, the Internet lit up. Facebook was immediately populated with pics of the show’s famous Muppets in angry stances, and Big Bird suddenly had several new Twitter accounts, including one that already has nearly 17,000 followers and spouts missives such as “Tonight’s Sesame Street was also brought to you by the numbers 4 and 7.” But I’m not surprised Romney has beef with Sesame Street. It’s clearly a bit hood (um, Oscar the Grouch, anyone), hella integrated (Black folk, white folk, Hispanics, and monsters, son), and full of lessons about doing right by the community—all things that haven’t exactly been hallmarks of the Republican candidate’s campaign. Romney had better pray he doesn’t win this election; the toddlers I know would cut him for messing with their show.

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Undecided voters are ridiculous. I watched the debate on CNN, and they had a panel of “undecided” voters watch and weigh as the candidates spoke. I probably spent way too much time watching the squiggly lines jump around at the bottom of the screen, but I spent even more time thinking about a skit on last week’s SNL that had me dying laughing. In it, undecided voters were portrayed as idiots who ask questions such as, “Can women vote?” and “What are the names of the two people running, and be specific?” and “How long is a president’s term in office? One year? Two years? Three years? Or life?” With just 32 days to go until November 6, I just find it hard to believe that there are folks who are waiting until after the debates to pick a side. Who the hell are these people? Are they the people who pop up in my Facebook feed posting pictures of what they had for dinner when everyone else is talking about the debate and inventing new Twitter hashtags (#imaginaryundecideds)? I’m beginning to think they just want to be on television; stranger things have happened for 15 minutes of screen time.

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