So remember how earlier this week, Kevin Clash — the voice and puppeteer of Sesame Street‘s lovable Elmo — was accused of carrying on a relationship with a sixteen-year-old boy. Oof, right in the childhood. Except in almost no time at all, his accuser has recanted his story, saying that he and Clash’s relationship took place after he came of age. So … yeah. WHAT THE HELL, DUDE? Via TMZ …
The accuser’s lawyer just released a statement saying, “[The accuser] wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship. [The accuser] will have no further comment.”
It’s unclear why the accuser suddenly changed his story … but sources close to the situation tell TMZ … the accuser’s attorney had been meeting with Clash’s attorney as recent as an hour ago, discussing a financial settlement and 6-figures were on the table. We broke the story, the accuser claimed he had a sexual relationship with Kevin beginning when he was 16 and Kevin was 45.
Clash has also released a statement saying, “I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further.”
I can’t remember who said it, but as someone once put it, “abuse victims don’t want money, they want justice.” There are parts here missing from the story, but part of me also feels like if they could give this kid six figures and suddenly the story’s different … I dunno, something about this seems fishy.