Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash poses with the “Sesame Street” muppet . The man who accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teen now says it isn’t so. The man said in a statement released on Tuesday that his sexual relationship with Clash was adult and consensual.By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK – First, Big Bird became an unwitting player in a presidential debate that argued for clipping his wings.
Then came word that the actor who plays Elmo would take a leave of absence amid an allegation that he had had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy – an accusation that was withdrawn the next day.
The happy band of Muppets on “Sesame Street” has faced the sort of hot spotlight you might expect for the rowdies of “Jersey Shore.” Too often, it seems, the show has confronted hairpin detours through the mean streets of politics and scandal.