Kevin Clash, voice of Elmo, resigns amid more accusations of sex with minors; Sesame Street says a 'distraction'

Lori Ziganto | 12:14 PM on November 20, 2012

As Twitchy reported, Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, took a leave of absence when allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor boy surfaced. That accuser then recanted. Today, another accuser surfaced.

I argued last week that the media should be asking more questions about initial Elmo settlement. Sounds like I was right. Sadly.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 20, 2012

https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/270927707674664960

UPDATE: SESAME STREET Puppeteer Resigns After Second Sex Accuser Files Lawsuit… http://t.co/AkBtXrkm

— NEWS MAKER (@NEWS_MAKER) November 20, 2012

Clash has now resigned.

https://twitter.com/miltonwolfmd/status/270933895552311298

"He has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day" http://t.co/KLfBkPBo

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 20, 2012

Effective? Really? That’s the biggest concern?

Sesame Street statement: "…the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us wants…"

— Jeff Rossen (@jeffrossen) November 20, 2012

Sesame Street Workshop issued a statement.

Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. 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. 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. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.