Elmo Muppeteer Kevin Clash resigns from Sesame Street

[FellowWLover]

My heart broke when I first heard about this whole thing because I know that, true or not true, these allegations will have an effect on the whole Puppetry community, as it will undoubtedly spark a round of guidelines and procedures that will likely far limit the amount of contact these professionals can have with fans and kids in the future. Those of us who have been in the online community for years all know great stories about young fans who reached out to their heros, have visited sets and have been encouraged and mentored in a magical way... several of them are now professionals in their own right, now working in that same community. I'm afraid accusations such as these (true or not true!) will have a negative unintended consequence... it will become taboo for professionals to have any 'personal contact'- even perfectly innocent- with fans due to the fear that allegations may be made in the future. I've watched this happen in Education, Church & Athletics and although it is important to protect children, it is sad to live in a world where a Kindergarten teacher can't hug a five-year-old, a Priest can't hear unsupervised confessions and a coach can't take the team out for dinner after a win.

 

[aaronmojo]

Reading thru these posts, it's disheartening to me how many Muppet fans are so quick to blame the accusers, call them names, refer to them in a derogatory fashion, etc. Elmo will still be around either way - he makes too much money to retire him - and if (or when) they replace the performer, I have a feeling they won't make a big deal out of it, to avoid dredging up this whole issue again.

Also - dwmckim, there are lots of online chats (or there were back in 2000 which was the tail end of the AOL era) that allowed teenagers to participate. There still are forums for gay teens, but there are strict rules about adults participating and whether they are allowed to contact the teens off-forum (usually that's a big no-no).

I don't know if Kevin is guilty of anything either way but the fact that three of these guys have come forward leads me to be suspicious. Yeah, they're going after cash, which is sleazy, but that does not make Kevin Clash's alleged actions any LESS sleazy.

And that whole "convention people are weird" thing? There are hardcore fans of anything who are weird and creepy. Some Muppet fans are just as bad as some comics fans. And I say this as both a cartoonist and as a puppeteer.

 

[D'Snowth]

Reading thru these posts, it's disheartening to me how many Muppet fans are so quick to blame the accusers, call them names, refer to them in a derogatory fashion, etc.

I still don't comprehend why you and that other guy are actually in sympathy with the accusers to begin with: they each have inconsistencies with their stories, they each pretty much lied about their ages to begin with, they each act like Kevin's resignation is a major accomplishment for them (one even saying it's the "stepping stone he needed" for his own career), one of them claims it took all these years for the trauma to sink in (W T F), etc. If there's truth to these stories or not, it seems clear to a lot of us that these guys are basically looking to extort money from Kevin and try to boost their own careers in the process... and yet, you two are sympathizing with them... I don't get it.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I still don't comprehend why you and that other guy are actually in sympathy with the accusers to begin with

I think it's more that they don't want Muppet fandom to overshadow the facts, whatever that turns out to be.

 

[D'Snowth]

Perhaps, but still, there's a lack of credibility to their stories, and considering there's some already-existing criminal background, and again, two of them seem like they're trying to resort to extortion to boost their own careers... it just seems odd, to me, that anybody would side with them on this issue.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Perhaps, but still, there's a lack of credibility to their stories, and considering there's some already-existing criminal background, and again, two of them seem like they're trying to resort to extortion to boost their own careers... it just seems odd, to me, that anybody would side with them on this issue.

That's why I won't address this part of the issue directly. Anything on either side is gossip at this point. But the thing is, would you be so eager to discredit them if the person they were accusing wasn't someone you cared about?

 

[D'Snowth]

Sure. That whole Christian-Newsom murder trial that just recently made national news? That happened here in my own backyard YEARS ago, and each of those murderers have tried justifying their actions... I don't think you can justify torturing, raping, and killing two individuals for the sake of kicks.

Or, the whole Treyvon Martin controversy? No doubt in my mind that George Zimmerman shot him because, oh, black teenager in a hoody walking through the neighborhood is automatically suspicious.

 

[MelissaY1]

I dunno, I don't want to turn this into a debate, but personally I believe that the circumstances of forgiveness should be unconditional, and it shouldn't really matter how terrible the crime was. I'm not just speaking this in Kevin's case, but in any case in general.

I do know, though, that if these allegations do turn out to be true, I will be willing to forgive him, and I encourage others to do the same.

Hubert, you're entitled to your opinion, but I have to politely disagree. I believe if someone commits something unspeakable, they should not be forgiven like nothing happened. Maybe you'd feel different if you were a parent of the kids who are claiming they were abused, or if you had a family member who did something truly awful to someone else. I have relatives who have done horrendous things, and sorry myself and other family members don't forgive them.

 

[MelissaY1]

Whoah, did he really just say the Muppets should not appear at conventions???

As someone who has spent a lot of money and time going to quite a lot of conventions in my travels and AS someone who would travel anywhere in the world if there was an official Muppet convention again I find that remark truly bizarre.

The Muppets/JHC/SW need to be AT MORE conventions. I have a hard time believing D'Snowth really said that. Muppets and nerd gatherings are a match made and heaven.
I was sad I didn't really see any muppety stuff at this year's San Diego Comic Con tho.

I agree, Beaker. I too, have spent a lot of money going to conventions and while I haven't really left the NY tri-state area for one yet, if I had the unlimited funds to do so, I definitely would. I would love to go to the San Diego con one day.

 

[MelissaY1]

Yes I did. As a Seinfeld fan, you should know that such a combination is the equivilant of a George being divided amongst itself, and not being able to stand, as worlds are colliding.
Again, I find these conventions and the people who attend them truly bizarre. And this is coming from a self-admitted eccentric, but we're talking BEYOND eccentric here.
I don't recall saying "that", I might have said "that", but I'm sure if I did, I would have said, "thaaaaaaat"...
Well, there's actually a different between nerds and geeks, and I believe I fall into the nerd category, not the geek category. And while I haven't ever actually attended such conventions, I've seen more than enough from other people's videos and captures and what have you to know I wouldn't last a minute at one of those things without running and screaming, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!" I mean these conventions seem equivient of being in a funny farm, especially when they involve cosplayers.

LOL, I understand where you're coming from, D'Snowth, and I agree there's a lot of wackos at these things, but I think that's kind of part of the fun, and honestly, when I go to these things I'm on my own agenda seeing different panels/celebs, etc. and I focus on that and really don't associate with the rest of the con goers, mostly because a lot of them are so "out there". Some people genuinely eat, sleep and breathe whatever they're into and I just don't get it. Even as much as I love the Muppets, I'm into all kinds of things and love them all equally, and I know when to turn those obsessions on and off. My boyfriend (now husband) last time we went to the NY Comic Con a few years back, remarked to me that he was so happy I'm not as nuts as some of the other women there walking around in costume, etc. He said he can deal with my interests because I don't go overboard.

The flip side, is you get to meet and know a lot of cool people if you go to enough of these things too. I've met people just from going to these things now, I'm friendly with some of the vendors, the regular fans who go, etc. It does have a good side.