Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
It just popped up in my twitter.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/11/13/elmo-puppeteer-accused-recants.html
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I was hoping it wasn't true. I saw the Sesame street documentary and the DH and I were still in disbelief of the news.
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I was coming to post this same thing. I feel relieved but I can't help but think the accuser was paid to recant his story. Even if it was false, I doubt there was any other way to get him to drop it this quickly. Very unfortunate. And overall, it's very disappointing that a talented man's poor judgment would tarnish Sesame Street like this.
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@daniellemybelle: Gosh I hope not. If he were paid off don't they say "charges were dropped."
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I do agree that it's probably not the best idea for a man in his mid 40s to get involved with an 18-year-old, but I have to wonder if as many people would be pointing out the inappropriateness of that if the 18-year-old were a young woman. Like even when we didn't know the details yet, I was reading a lot of people (not necessarily here) saying Clash is in the wrong either way--whether the accuser was 16 or 18. I feel like now that the accuser has admitted that they were two consenting adults in a sexual relationship, this whole situation should just be dropped, but I'm getting the sense that people are going to continue to condemn Clash for the relationship even though he wasn't doing anything wrong. I just honestly wonder if people would be as "freaked out" about that if the accuser weren't a man. I don't know. Just something I've been thinking about.
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@MrsSCB: I see your point, but I think it's just as inappropriate for a 40-something-year-old man to sleep with an 18-year-old girl. Just because it's legal and happens all the time doesn't make me less heeby jeeby about it!
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Well I'm glad the charges were dropped. I can't help but think the same, if it was an older man and a younger woman, it wouldn't be such a big deal. There is a 69 year old senator in Canada who married at 23 year old woman, and it's nothing more than a little tabloid fodder.
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@MrsSCB: @prettylizy: I disagree pretty strongly. I love Elmo and I love Kevin Clash, and I could care less that Kevin is gay.
What troubles me is that that someone who works very closely with children potentially had a sexual relationship with someone around the age of 18... and that he not only had the poor judgement to make that decision, but that he also emailed him from his sesamestreet email and told him that he wanted to "make sure your dreams come true." This all purportedly happened while Kevin was in his mid to late 40s... so he was over 2x the age.
I think this would still be a very big deal if he had had an affair with a girl around 19 years old or so. It's just horrific judgement for someone whose career depends on being trusted by children and parents.
All that said, I am guessing that more facts will emerge and I definitely will wait until then before reacting to the situation!
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@mrbee: very well put. I will admit, I haven't read or followed much other than news clips and headlines on this story--- the bit about the e-mail and the lines in the e-mail made my skin crawl a little. I think you're right, more info will be coming out soon enough.
Maybe I've been watching too much 90210 on Netflix, I'm pretty sure at least 2 or 3 of the main characters who were 18 or 19 dated much older men, and that seemed totally fine (probably because the actresses were in their 30's!!) lol!
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I agree with Mr. Bee. I don't care at all that he is gay, but when I hear about much older adults sleeping with people who are barely adults when they work in an industry where they are around children, it kind of freaks me out.
This is a position of trust - teachers, pastors, scout leaders... they need to make better decisions when so much trust is placed in them.
I worry when people who are attracted to those much younger are in these kind of fields. That doesn't mean I think he's a child molester... I just get a little wary. -
@mrbee: @Arden: It's the abuse of power that is concerning. You don't have to be a child molester to enter into relationships where you are taking advantage of your power over another. I have a hard time imagining a version of this story where that was NOT the case to some extent.
At the end of the day though, if Sesame Street believes he is not guilty of any wrongdoing, I suppose we ought to trust that. I just hope they are standing behind him because he is in the right, and not to protect their brand in some way.
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@mrbee: I understand what you're saying and you're making valid points. I did say that I don't think it was a good thing he got sexually involved with an 18-year-old, and I can tell that you would feel the same way about him even if the accuser had been a woman. But I still maintain that the way I've seen some other people (not you) talk about him gives me the feeling they wouldn't feel the same if it had been a heterosexual relationship, and that's what bothers me. I don't disagree that relationship was inappropriate regardless of gender, but I just don't think everyone is on the same page there.
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@MrsSCB: I agree that some people are homophobic, and that that's very disturbing.
That hasn't been the bulk of the reactions I've seen online though. I think a lot of people hold individuals like Kevin (in high trust positions working with children) to a higher standard of conduct than we expect of others. From what's been reported, Kevin risked violating that trust through his decisions... that's been the biggest reaction I've seen.
But definitely am horrified whenever anyone's reaction to an allegation like this centers on sexual orientation!
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Yeah, I mean I had a teacher in high school who multiple times started relationships with former students. But by former I mean just graduated. Even though they were all 18 and technically not HIS students anymore, I still thought that was totally inappropriate. So I agree, the situation does give me pause in much the same way that my old teacher did. But at the same time, I don't know if it's fair to assume or suspect that because he had a relationship with an 18-year-old that he also would with someone underage. I don't know, this is a difficult situation, I'll be interested to see how it all plays out and I just hope he's treated fairly given the information Sesame has (which I'm sure they won't necessarily reveal to us).
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