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Actor/Puppeteer Kevin Clash poses with Elmo.
The voice of Elmo, Kevin Clash, resigned today amid new allegations of sexual misconduct with underages boys, “Sesame Street” producers announced.
“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,’ “ according a statement by Sesame Workshop, the education nonprofit that produces the venerable children’s show.
“This is a sad day for `Sesame Street.’ ”
Sesame Workshop thanked Clash, who has been the voice of Elmo since 1984, for all his years of service.
“Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential,” according to Sesame Workshop.
“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. “
Clash’s sudden downfall came hours after published reports emerged that a man in his mid-30s filed a lawsuit against Clash, accusing the beloved puppeteer of having underaged sex with him when he was just 15.
The federal civil complaint, filed in New York by Cecil Singleton, alleged that Clash -- now 52 -- picked him up in 1993 on a gay phone chat line.
Singleton said he was 15 at the time, while Clash was 32.
"[Clash] trolled gay telephone chat line rooms to meet and have sex with underage boys,” Singleton claimed in his explosive lawsuit.
"[Clash] groomed [the accuser] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money."
Even though the alleged sex happened nearly 20 years ago, Singleton said he remained silent all this time, because he didn’t know the psychological and emotional damage the intimate, underaged contact did.
The lawsuit said Singleton "did not become aware that he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects from Kevin Clash's sexual acts and conduct until 2012."
Singleton is asking more than $5 million.
Clash faced a similar accusation of underage sex last week, in a complaint that just won’t go away.
Sheldon Stephens, 24, accused Clash of sexual misconduct this summer before the allegations went public last week.
Stephens then withdrew his complaint but now wants to recant his recantation.
He’s interviewing lawyers in hopes of ripping up the $125,000 deal he reached last week with Clash, TMZ said.
Stephens’s Pennsylvania lawyers last week released this statement: 'He [Stephens] wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.”
Now Stephens wants to go back to his previous position: That he and Clash had sex when he was just 16, according to the celebrity-gossip Web site.
Clash, a divorced Upper West Side dad, has been on a leave of absence from “Sesame Street” since the sordid story broke last week.
He’s conceded to having a fling with Stephens, but vehemently insists the sex didn’t happen until his boy toy became legal.
Additional reporting by David K. Li and Rebecca Rosenberg
Elmo voice actor Kevin Clash resigns as second man files underage sex lawsuit against him
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Elmo voice actor Kevin Clash resigns as second man files underage sex lawsuit against him
