Yesterday the gossip website TMZ broke the news that Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, had been accused of statutory rape by a former lover who is now 23. Clash, who became better known after he was featured in the acclaimed documentary Being Elmo, acknowledged the relationship, but said that the accuser was an adult when it began. Clash was backed up by his employers at the Children's Television Workshop. But CTW did discipline him for inappropriate use of his professional email account, and granted him a leave of absence, reportedly to fight the allegations.
Given the disciplinary action and the leave of absence, many people online seemed to assume that Clash was guilty. But news now comes from Brian Stelter of the New York Times that Clash's accuser has recanted:
We seem to have so few truly unsullied heroes in our world these days, that if the voice of the most beloved Sesame Street ever had been guilty of this particular crime it would have been terribly unfortunate.
For so many children Elmo is almost like a personal friend, a forever innocent icon that they can relate to as they deal with their transition from trusting children to critical thinkers. Nice to learn that the man behind the voice is not guilty of this possibly criminal behavior.
I also think that it is admirable that while the Children's Television Network did discipline Mr. Clash for inappropriate use of his work email, that they did NOT cut him loose, nor leave him without support while he dealt with his very delicate and potentially devastating situation.
I'm a adult, and I love me some Elmo. I am so glad this accusation is false.
ReplyDeleteThe lying accuser should be punished.
There ARE laws about false accusations.
ReplyDeleteedit: I'm 'an' adult.
ReplyDeleteIs this a photo of Sarah hugging Glen Rice?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous7:21 AM
DeleteNotice we have not heard a peek out of her since Romney got his ass kicked last week. She is probably in a straitjacket, over the reelection of President Barack H. Obama.
hahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA
She's just posted this on her Facebook page:-
DeleteSarah Palin
12 minutes ago
Who is running our country? We've got a CIA Director sharing security info with his mistress using an unsecure gmail account. We've got the delusional Susan Rice blaming the death of an ambassador on a Youtube video. We've got Iran firing on one of our drones a week before the election. We've got the White House either ignorant of or covering up all of this. Who is minding the store? Everywhere we look we see the rank incompetence or corruption of the people who are supposedly running our country and our major institutions. Let's hope that responsible reporters at Obama's press conference today ask the right questions Americans deserve answers to.
Here's my question for the president: As our nation's chief executive you claim to be unaware of the most important and tragic situations we're facing; so, as a former chief executive, I'd like to know how long it takes for your staff to tell you things like: "Sir, your CIA Director is under investigation"?
- Sarah Palin
That is so grammatically incorrect and uncomfortably-worded that I have a feeling she really wrote it herself. I guess with her PAC being $200 Grand in the red she doesn't have many people left on payroll these days.
DeleteAnonymous9:15 AM
DeleteObviously this Fakebook post was not penned by Baldy...shit she probably never even read it...you know how I know this...because there is no mention of "big dingalings and having balls"!
Baldy must still be under sedation or in a drunken stupor...sitting around in the same funky smelling clothes she had on last Tuesday...stuffing her face with smores...taco bell and throwing it all up and starting all over again! LOL!!
What Baldy needs to do is STFU because eventually she is going to have to pay for the deaths of those six people in Arizona and the wounding of Gabby Gifford...any questions that bald headed idiot should be asking is...."Do I get to take all my wigs with me to prison?"
Stupid ass bitch!
Ahahaa, "as a former chief executive"....yeah, of 600,000 people, and a job you quit because it was too hard. Oh, the nation just can't wait for your advice.
DeleteI love Elmo too and I love Kevin Clash. He just didn't seem to be someone who would molest a teenager. I am so glad the accuser recanted.
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments exactly.
DeleteThis smells like those Breitbart "stings" during the first Obama administration. Anything to discredit a government agency or PBS or Planned Parenthood, Acorn, etc. Defunding public broadcasting has long been in the sights of the cultural conservatives.
ReplyDeleteAlso, fake allegations undermine real allegations.
It is something how someone so evil lie Beitbart, dropped dead on the streets, at such a young age. Too bad he did not spend his life dishing out good, instead of dishing out evil. He has left a legacy of evil, that what he is remembered for.
DeleteToo bad, too late, the damage is done to his career IMHO. It's all about perception.
ReplyDeleteStop it with this idiotic 'punish the false accuser'.
ReplyDeleteWhy must this site be full of unthinking knee jerk comments when G is such a responsible man himself? First of all, we don't know the details enough to know whether it was even a lie or a simple misunderstanding or something else.
But most importantly, it is idiots like you guys that say that that have caused crimes like rape to be so often unreported. Victims are terrified and clearly - rightly so as you show - to come forward and have their stories combed through with a Fine toothed comb and every possible mistake made into a 'she was lying! Lynch her!' moment. No wonder so many people are frightened when it is so difficult to get a conviction with evidence of he says vs she says. No doubt any other victim reading this feels just wonderful that if anything goes wrong they will be smeared and called dirty liars and people will ask for punishment.
G lets everyone comment, which is great. But my god, the left is sadly not free of uneducated mindless sheep and it seems many congregate here. Well, if you want unthinking friends go to a conservative blog, where you can be a vile as you like against possible victims of wrongdoing, okay? The left doesn't WANT you!
EFF YOU!
DeleteIf someone accused you of false shit, smearing your reputation, you would want them punished.
So EFF OFF, BITCH!
Anonymous8:02 AM
DeleteHi Dobie! Hitting the bottle a little early again huh! LOL!!!
Guy sure gave fodder to homophones that think any gay man is a pedophile. This fucker sure caused some collateral damage in settling a score, whatever it may be, against the voice of Elmo. :(
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace spent her entire show on this last night..
ReplyDeleteNo...I'm not a troll, but....
ReplyDeleteThe dude is 52 years old & had an "affair" with someone barely old enough to vote.
He has a daughter. He was married until 2003.
Regardless, the whole ordeal was inappropriate.
If it were a 50 year old man and a 21 year old woman, people would be screaming.
I'm highly offended.
Couldn't he find somebody old enough to drink?
What does him having a daughter and being married up until 10 years ago have to do with anything?
DeleteAlso, for your education, where do you get the idea that people would be screaming if he were 50 and "she" were 21? This is the 21st century! Hell, my FATHER married a woman only 5 years older than me when I was 17!
DeleteThey lived quite happily for almost 40 years and she gave him a daughter and a son, of whom he was quite proud.
So pull in your ignorant horns and wake up to the new milennia!
50 year old men boink 21 year old women all the time. 18 year old women also. Nobody blinks an eye. The only thing I see inappropriate is that someone tried to trash Kevin Clash.
Delete"If it were a 50 year old man and a 21 year old woman, people would be screaming."
DeleteUh, no they wouldn't.
They'd pat them on the back, congratulate them and buy them a beer.
That just shows that CTW talks and talk and walks the walk. They don't just talk about tolerance and inclusion. (And not jumping to conclusions). They also practice it.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Kevin in interviews and I was certain he was innocent because he would never do anything to stain the reputation of CTW or endanger Elmo. Never. I know he is aware that what he does in his personal life does effect his character, so he would never do anything illegal that would put Elmo or CTW in jeopardy.
I'm sure that the 6-figure settlement discussed between the accuser and Clash's attorney had nothing to do with the accusers decision to recant ;-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tmz.com/2012/11/13/sesame-street-kevin-clash-accuser-retraction-recants-sex-allegations/
TMZ
DeleteI'm sure that six figure extortion payment had nothing to do with this asswipe inventing this story to begin with.
DeleteI love the last line of the Slate article linked to this post
ReplyDelete"One can only hope that the news of this recanting is shared half as widely as the accusation itself was."
The man's livelihood involves working with children (sound vaguely familiar?) and was falsely accused.
Kudos to CTW for their level headed handling of the entire allegation.