Elmo Puppeteer Resigns as New Allegations Emerge

Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street after 28 years spent voicing the popular character, the New York Times reports. A 24-year-old man came forward last week accusing Clash of having sex with him when he was just 16 and Clash was 45, and now TMZ reports that a second man is suing Clash for the same reason. Cecil Singleton, 24, says he and Clash had a sexual relationship starting when he was 15. He says the two met on a gay phone chat line in 2003, and his suit accuses Clash of trolling such chat lines "to meet and have sex with underage boys."

The suit further claims Clash "groomed [Singleton] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money." In a statement announcing Clash's resignation, Sesame Workshop says: "The controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job ... This is a sad day for Sesame Street." Production will continue uninterrupted, as other puppeteers that Clash helped identify have already been filling in for him during his leave of absence. Click to get caught up on the scandal. (More Kevin Clash stories.)