One of the things I am seeing all over the internet is that a fifteen year old is mature enough to engage in a consensual sexual relationship. If it was two fifteen year olds maybe, but a man over the age of forty seeking sex with a minor is wrong. I have even seen the articles about the second man who has accused him of having sex with him when he was a minor, has adds on Craigslist. The Craigslist add is him as a person over the age of eighteen not younger than eighteen. In my opinion some of those articles are to try to discredit the second accuser.
I have also seen blog sites where mothers are defending Kevin Clash. Some commenters on these blogs even say things like "So what, my child loves Elmo." I am interested in why their isn't the same type of outrage against Kevin Clash and Sesame Street compared to Jerry Sandusy and Penn State. Or Jimmy Seville in the UK. BBC news has been getting flack for this for weeks now. And anyone with access to the internet knows what Penn State has been going through. I say rightfully so.
I am concerned that somehow this story is going to end up at the bottom of a heap somewhere and just die out. Why? In my opinion because of the PR machine at Sesame Street. I am not saying that Sesame Street should be irrevocably harmed by this. The first accuser recanted and said he was paid $125,000 to keep quiet. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/accuser_got_to_recant_jGgd9v0ejj6wpiqVzzD9xK Where did this money come from? I have read that back in June Sesame Street was notified of the allegations from the first accuser and determined that there was no merit to them. I wonder how many times this happened? If there were any other times. I understand Sesame Street protecting their brand but doing so can hurt them in the long run. They only need to look at Penn State to see how bad this can become for them.
It is ironic that this has happened to a brand that is so well known to children and parents. A brand that has stood for wholeness, education and honesty. It is the same reason that their isn't extreme public outrage. If this man knowingly had sex with males under the age of consent he committed a crime and should therefore be held accountable. If Sesame Street knew of other accusers in the past and did nothing they need to be held accountable as well. It is easy for people to just blame victim in cases like this. That is what happened for decades when it came to the Boy Scouts, Catholic Church, and other brands who chose to protect their brand other then to protect children. That is what is so good about social media. It has changed the way the truth comes out. Rosie
Television
Elmo Actor Kevin Clash Resigns Amid Sex Allegations
Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied. A day later, the man recanted his charge. A lawsuit by a second accuser was filed Tuesday, according to attorney Cecil Singleton.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sesame Workshop says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Streetin the wake of allegations that he had sex with an under-aged youth.
Sesame Workshop called the controversy surrounding Clash’s personal life “a distraction that none of us want” and led to his decision to leave the show.
Clash created the voice and persona for Elmo, who has become one of Sesame Street’s most popular characters.