By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
It’s been a crazy week for everyone on Sesame Street. Just last week, news broke that Kevin Clash, the voice actor who provides the voice of beloved Elmo, has been accused of having with an underage child. According to the accuser who is now an adult, allegedly Clash began a sexual relationship with the accuser while he was just 16 years old. Clash denied the allegations and claimed he didn’t start a sexual relationship with his accuser, Sheldon Stephens until he was of legal age. He says when Stephens was of age, the two began an adult and consensual relationship.
Sesame Street launched it’s own investigation and later claimed that they could find no evidence of any wrong doing on Clash’s end, with the exception of some non work related computer usage. He has taken leave from the show for now. This was confirmed through a public statement on their own website.
A few days after the news broke, Clash’s accuser then recanted his story and claimed that the sexual relationship with Clash did not begin when he was 16 years old.
Now it appears that the accuser has changed his stance, again. He is now recanting his recant, and according to TMZ, he’s now refusing to go through with an alleged settlement offered by Clash and his legal counsel.
TMZ reports that the settlement offered was $125,000 and in addition to the money, Stephens also had to release a statement that claimed that the relationship did not begin when he was 16.
However, Stephens has agreed to forgo the settlement and recants his recant because he wants to clear his name.
Interestingly enough, a few days ago the accuser’s past legal troubles were revealed by The Smoking Gun. The site also claims that Stephens has a past of dating high profile men and violent legal issues. According to the website:
The mystery man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of engaging in an underage sexual relationship–only to recant the allegation a day later–is a struggling 24-year-old model/actor who was once arrested for the knifepoint robbery of $250,000 in jewelry from a music manager for whom he interned, The Smoking Gun has learned.
This is so disturbing. smh
What?! Man, this is getting ridiculous. If he did, don’t take the money and let the truth be told. This guy is coming off like a male gold digger and playing around with a situation that is not a joking matter.
No one knows what happened but these two BUT the accuser seems real suspect to me. IJS.
I guess Elmo didn’t pay enough…
You already know.
A hot mess. This has become nothing but a joke.
Usually someone who’s had this happen to them can’t be paid off. The fact that he even came that close to taking money makes it hard for me to take him seriously.
I agree. I also don’t understand why they are paying him $125,000 if nothing happen? I personally think he is struggling financially and for whatever reason he is targeting this guy is completely for financial gain. but unfortunetly this is going to be a huge dent in Clash’s career weather it proves true or not.
He needs to get a damn job and stop trying to steal and blackmail people to make a living. His past reads like the typical boy toy user.