Elmo Muppeteer Kevin Clash resigns from Sesame Street

[muppetlover123]

maybe if elmo has to be replaced we wont be seeing alot of elmo street stories in season 44... which maybe will give other characters some street story time like grover big bird cookie maybe count and ernie and bert maybe i still feel really bad for kevin and i hope he is alright and same with the show i think they can make it to 50 i really hope so because they already have a record of longest running tv show and also they cast someone as a new mexican herritage character in august so hes going to have lots of screen time in season 44...

 

[aaronmojo]

Okay - here's my feelings and opinions on Kevin Clash leaving Sesame Street. He doesn't have an option at this point. I don't know if I'm sorry to see him go or not because I am not certain about the degree of truth to the allegations. I am sorry things took a turn in this direction, but I'm gonna reserve feeling any kind of pity for Kevin - or anger towards his accusers - until more information comes out.

The whole situation reminds me of Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet.

 

[Drtooth]

They'll replace Elmo and Sesame Street will go on, but for me, the most disappointing part is that now his whole inspirational story is tainted.

The Founding Fathers owned slaves and Thomas Edison stole every single one of his "inventions." Does that make them any less influential historically? Just because of some alleged poor judgement, Kevin didn't automatically become worse than Hitler, no matter how you look at it. People do have dark little facets of their personality and personal lives we're not supposed to know about that we'd rather not know. Meanwhile, didn't Cher marry someone who was barely 18 at one point? For like a week or something?

 

[D'Snowth]

Okay, some of the entertainment news shows are covering the story this time, and I just the press conference given by the second accuser, a guy named Cecil (who I SWEAR I thought was a woman at first) claiming that Kevin did things like grobe him, and masturbate to him, among other things, and that they didn't actually engage in any kind of intercourse until years later.

And you're right Drtooth. Likewise, didn't John Mellencamp get a teenage girl pregnant one time?

 

[aaronmojo]

The Founding Fathers owned slaves and Thomas Edison stole every single one of his "inventions." Does that make them any less influential historically? Just because of some alleged poor judgement, Kevin didn't automatically become worse than Hitler, no matter how you look at it. People do have dark little facets of their personality and personal lives we're not supposed to know about that we'd rather not know. Meanwhile, didn't Cher marry someone who was barely 18 at one point? For like a week or something?

Did you really just invoke Hitler?

I'm not gonna debate your wrong assertions about the Founding Fathers and Thomas Edison. What I'll say is that Kevin Clash exercised poor judgment, and to angrily condemn his accusers and put Kevin on some kind of pedestal is 100% wrong. When someone in a position of power abuses that power to whatever ends - whether sexual or monetary or whatever - it taints everything else they do and causes anyone with any insight into human character to question their motivations for everything else they've accomplished in life.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

I don't think we will see Elmo in Season 44. But I wonder what happened to Preston Rabbit (Steve Whitmire) and Ruby Monster (Camille Bonora), And also Shelly the Turtle (Marty P. Robinson)? I know Don Music does not appear anymore because of parents sending complaint emails to Children's Television Workshop about their kids hitting their heads at home. Well, It looks like Telly (the other red monster on Sesame Street) is going to be on Sesame Street longer than Elmo. But this is a catastrophe. Kevin Clash did other Sesame Street characters, Such as Hoots the Owl, Benny the Rabbit, The Eel (from The Sesame Street sketch: "Squeal of Fortune"), Announcer for "Miami Mice", Murphy Brownbag (Puppetry Only), The Singing Dentist lead singer, The Octopus (from "The Octopus Blues), and many others..... Outside Sesame Street he was Clifford, Baby Dinosaur, Leroy, and many others.....

 

[Drtooth]

Something tells me, if there is a grain of truth to the second accuser, most of that stuff he just said was exaggerated, and coached by his lawyer. If he waited 20 years and wants money, there's something wrong there no matter how true it could be.

And you're right Drtooth. Likewise, didn't John Mellencamp get a teenage girl pregnant one time?

Celebrities do some crazy crap, but they only get in trouble when they're kid's entertainers or the news is slow.

 

[ProboSowa]

I don't think we will see Elmo in Season 44. But I wonder what happened to Preston Rabbit (Steve Whitmire) and Ruby Monster (Camille Bonora), And also Shelly the Turtle (Marty P. Robinson)? I know Don Music does not appear anymore because of parents sending complaint emails to Children's Television Workshop about their kids hitting their heads at home. Well, It looks like Telly (the other red monster on Sesame Street) is going to be on Sesame Street longer than Elmo. But this is a catastrophe. Kevin Clash did other Sesame Street characters, Such as Hoots the Owl, Benny the Rabbit, The Eel (from The Sesame Street sketch: "Squeal of Fortune"), Announcer for "Miami Mice", Murphy Brownbag (Puppetry Only), The Singing Dentist lead singer, The Octopus (from "The Octopus Blues), and many others..... Outside Sesame Street he was Clifford, Baby Dinosaur, Leroy, and many others.....

Elmo's not going anywhere. There've been other puppeteers Kevin trained for the role.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm not gonna debate your wrong assertions about the Founding Fathers and Thomas Edison. What I'll say is that Kevin Clash exercised poor judgment, and to angrily condemn his accusers and put Kevin on some kind of pedestal is 100% wrong.

And to angrily condemn Kevin and put the accuser on a pedestal is... ? You know your second statement contradicts your first, right?

When someone in a position of power abuses that power to whatever ends - whether sexual or monetary or whatever - it taints everything else they do and causes anyone with any insight into human character to question their motivations for everything else they've accomplished in life.

Except A) He did not use his position of power for jack. This was all in private. And B) Every freaking celebrity should be tainted by that logic. The voice of Buzz Lightyear did coke at some point... before he was the voice of Buzz Lightyear. I'm not saying what Kevin did was okay by any means, but let's not paint him as some depraved sexual monster and let it overshadow everything else he's done. Otherwise, we're no better than the Shister lawyers and the rabid tabloid media. Sure, he did dumb things, he did great things to. Let's not take that away from him.

For further reading: Yeah...

 

[inturnaround]

And to angrily condemn Kevin and put the accuser on a pedestal is... ? You know your second statement contradicts your first, right?

He didn't do that. He said we don't know the facts, so we shouldn't judge either way. Engaging in blaming the alleged victim here is not constructive and it's also something we've been asked not to do.

Except A) He did not use his position of power for jack. This was all in private. And B) Every freaking celebrity should be tainted by that logic. The voice of Buzz Lightyear did coke at some point... before he was the voice of Buzz Lightyear. I'm not saying what Kevin did was okay by any means, but let's not paint him as some depraved sexual monster and let it overshadow everything else he's done. Otherwise, we're no better than the Shister lawyers and the rabid tabloid media. Sure, he did dumb things, he did great things to. Let's not take that away from him.

He was disciplined by Sesame Workshop for inappropriate use of their email system.

You can exploit your position of power in private.

Other people doing bad stuff too doesn't make other bad stuff better. It's still bad.

Beyond that, let's not comment any further on the veracity of these claims. I wish everyone the best and I'm sure we all hope justice is served.

I mourn the end of Kevin Clash's Sesame tenure. It's a shame it ended the way it did. His work will be missed.