The voice of Elmo resigned today. Kevin Clash, who has been the voice of Elmo for over three decades, resigned.

I haven't followed Sesame Street since I was a kid. When I was a kid watching Sesame Street, you still had black kids sporting Afros, the old guy, I can't even remember his name, was running the store on the block, and there was no hairy imaginary elephant that was friends with Big Bird. Elmo was almost two decades away when I stopped watching Sesame Street so as far as the voice or the puppeteer for Elmo, I don't care.

Look, when Jim Henson died it was thought no one could replace his voice, and someone did and frankly little kids never cared. When Mel Blanc died it was feared his familiar voice talents to the Warner Bros. cartoon creations would end the franchise. Other people came in, including Mel Blanc's son, and while die hard cartoon nuts would be able to tell the voices apart, there are generations of kids who could care less if it Mel's or someone else's voice. From a completely practical business sense, Kevin Clash's resignation won't have any impact on Elmo. Some other puppeteer will take over the voice, and for those who are adults it might be telling of the different voices but kids, especially the target audience of prekindergarten kids, it won't matter. In a few years, maybe even a decade, we might even forget the name Kevin Clash.

To me, the reason why this story resonates, and what makes me angry about the results of the story, is Kevin Clash didn't resign because he did something inappropriate. He was forced to resign, in my opinion, because he is a homosexual and he did something that heterosexuals do all the time, but would not automatically be fired for. His breech of ethics was because of the continued perceived image in this country that homosexuals prey on young victims to convert them into the world of homosexuality.

If Kevin Clash were heterosexual and he was accused of having sex with a minor and if the accuser recanted, I don't think he would have been asked to resign. Sesame Street stood by Clash, and when the accuser recanted it seemed the issue was over. In the statement made today, Sesame Street said the controversy surrounding Kevin Clash's personal life had become a distraction. So, as I read between the lines it says to me Clash's homosexuality made some worry that donations and support would be lost if he continued on the show. It may have been a mutual decision for him to resign, but the pressure was definitely on Sesame Street to get rid of Clash.

If Kelvin Clash was harassing underage teenagers, of course I can see he would have to be fired and, of course, be brought up on charges. So far, there doesn't seem to be any evidence this was the case. Kevin Clash is a puppeteer on Sesame Street, he's not Charlie Sheen. In that regard, Clash doesn't have deep pockets to silence accusers. In that same vein, Sesame Street isn't Two and Half Men or CBS. They don't have teams of lawyers who are trying to quiet inappropriate relationship accusations nor are they paying Clash millions of dollars a week so he can clean up his own messes.

So on one hand there is a puppeteer on Sesame Street accused, from what we know, of one instance of a very damaging event to be sure, but was recanted by the accuser. For that he gets fired. Charlie Sheen does everything from wielding a gun against his wife, a parade of porn star assaults, a raise in the middle of some of his antics before ultimately being fired. The result for Sheen? A brief and bewildering bit of adoration from 'fans' before falling even deeper into silliness, and in the end he got a new show. I doubt the same will happen with Kevin Clash.

We could blame the reaction of Sesame Street on the fact they cater to kids, which is a lot different situation than a lot of stars would have to face, but unlike people like Charlie Sheen, until a few years ago no one knew who Kelvin Clash was. Let's be real, there aren't a lot of paparazzi following puppeteers. Kevin Clash became 'famous' because he was a black man who was the voice of a character loved by millions of kids across America. He was a model of 'a brotha's doin' that' syndrome. He was that minority who did something in a field where you don't think of certain minorities participating in, like an Asian basketball star, a black hockey player or a black President. People couldn't believe and ultimately were glad to see a person of color could be famous as a Muppet of color. It wasn't until this accusation came up that Clash confirmed something that was whispered about; he was gay. It is sad to say that since puppetry isn't considered the most macho of jobs, that revelation wasn't as revealing as his skin color, but it still was notable because it was something where you could say here is a gay man who is Elmo and there is no shame in that. His work is loved by millions of kids and that's a good thing.

On the other hand, trailblazing can have problems. In situations where someone is the first, or is one of few minorities, there is a situation where they have to be better than the best. They have to be examples to a fault. Charlie Sheen was allowed to be Charlie Sheen not necessarily because he was white, but because he wasn't considered a role model or an example put on a pedestal. Basketball players can have mistresses in every city, but having this exposed isn't necessarily a career ending move. Tiger Woods has multiple affairs (and I'm not here to defend or condemn his actions) but because he was, and some still think he still is, a symbol and a person who opened the door for black people to be accepted in golf, his failing was attacked brutally in the press and by fans. If he were a basketball player, I doubt he would have been attacked as badly.

That is the situation Kevin Clash found himself in. The accuser saying he was seduced at 16 played into every stereotype of a gay man. It didn't matter if ultimately the accusation was recanted because people who only hear bits of the news because they lives to live, are only going to remember the puppeteer who was Elmo seduced a 16 year old he met on the set of Sesame Street. That's the sensational part of the story. When they are in the store looking for a toy for their kid, trust me when I say they aren't going to look at Tickle Me Elmo in the same way knowing what they know. The thing that makes me so angry about this is an accusation which was proven false ended a career. It ended a career because the accusation tapped into the fear of parents who think homosexuals are trying to recruit their kids. Kevin Clash loses his job over false accusations but there are many in Hollywood (Kardashians, Lohan, Sheen, and many more) who actually have bad behavior documented can continue to work and have support from the public.

Mitt Romney didn't fire Big Bird but a false accusation fired Elmo.

UPDATE: After writing the article, I saw that the reason for Clash leaving was a bit more involved than first reported. There was a second accuser who claimed an inappropriate relationship with Clash and the first accuser recanted the recant he gave, saying he was pressured to accept what amounted to $125,000 in hush money from Clash. It's tough to say if this will turn into a 'Herman Cain accusations out of the woodwork' incident or if both accusers are lying. Clash was a co-executive producer of Sesame Street as well as chief puppeteer. I'm pretty sure in that position a lawsuit would include Clash and Sesame Street, and with two allegations in the public it would have put a lot of pressure for Clash to resign.

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Elmo Got Fired - November 20, 2012
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