"Elmo" puppeteer parked

[Bob in Jersey]

NY Daily News: Kevin Clash, the man behind the Sesame Street redhead since the 80s, denied an alleged relationship with a younger man who contends he was underage when it started... Clash contends he wasn't... Sesame Workshop investigated, cleared Clash of anything illegal, but disciplined him for apparently communicating with the accuser on the company Internet... just 'cause he's gone, don't expect Elmo to be...

-- BOB

[Joe Coughlin]

Clash, according to TMZ, asked Sesame Workshop for leave and it was
granted. He also admits to a relationship with the now-23 year old
man, but that it was consensual and occurred when he was an adult.

Clash is more than just the performer of Elmo. He's also the puppet
captain of the show and a co-executive producer.

No charges have been filed and there's nothing been said of any
criminal complaint.



On 11/12/12, Bob in Jersey <bob.in...@juno.com> wrote:
> *NY Daily
> News*<http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/voice-elmo-actor-accused-sex-teen-denies-charges-article-1.1200566>:
>
> Kevin Clash, the man behind the *Sesame Street* redhead since the 80s,

> denied an alleged relationship with a younger man who contends he was
> underage when it started... Clash contends he wasn't... Sesame Workshop
> investigated, cleared Clash of anything illegal, but disciplined him for
> apparently communicating with the accuser on the company Internet... just
> 'cause he's gone, don't expect Elmo to be...
>
> -- BOB
>

> --
> TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "TV or Not TV" group.
> To post to this group, send email to tvor...@googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> tvornottv-...@googlegroups.com
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en


--
+++++++++++++++
Joe Coughlin
http://www.twitter.com/inturnaround

[Joe Hass]

This is the best example of journalistically-acceptable character assassination I've seen from the media in a long time.

Clash gets accused by someone of having a relationship of some kind with a minor. The accusation is vetted by his employer, who says it's unfounded, but does find he didn't follow company Internet policies, for which he's disciplines. Clash says he wants to take some time off to deal with this crap, and his employer gives it to him.

And this turned into this headline on CNN: "Voice of Elmo on leave after denying 'underage contact' with teen." Yahoo News has: "Elmo puppeteer accused of underage relationship." I don't watch TV news, but I'm sure those chyrons are very similar.

Which office does Kevin Clash go to get his reputation back?

[Kevin M.]

On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 11:14 AM, Joe Hass <hassg...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is the best example of journalistically-acceptable character assassination I've seen from the media in a long time.

Which office does Kevin Clash go to get his reputation back?

Same place Jeff "Frugal Gourmet" Smith went -- his grave. 

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

[PGage]

On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 11:14 AM, Joe Hass <hassg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Which office does Kevin Clash go to get his reputation back?\

 

 

This is exactly my reaction as well. If I saw this reported in the National Enquier while standing in line to pay for my grocieries I would shake my head at the low quality of crap tabloids - but to see this reported in what is often regarded as mainstream journalistic sources is appalling. I don't know Clash, and I don't know any of the details here. Perhaps at some point in the future there will be even a shred of evidence that he did anything wrong. But there is no evidence now that he did anything wrong, and so there should be no story written about it.

 

Note this from the 4th graph of the linked story:

 

"While the show’s probe was unable to find proof that Clash had engaged in a relationship with the accuser while he was a minor, it did find evidence that the man behind one of the most beloved children’s television characters had engaged in inappropriate behavior against company standards"

 

I bet a majority of readers come away from this paragraph thinking that Clash did something bad and illegal, instead of simply using company email to communicate in a personal relationship. At least three quarters of office workers violate this policy every week - myself included (well, my employer does not prohibit my use of my work email for personal corrospondnece, but I doubt it would make a difference anyway. However horrible a violation of office policy this is, it is not quite the same as pedophillia - but this paragraph does not really make that clear.

 

The article also notes that the accuser here retained the same legal counsel as one of the victims in the Penn State case. Further tagging this guy by associating him with the most well known pedophile in recent memory.

 

Then there is this from the last graph:

"Sesame Workshop tried to reassure fans that the shocking news didn’t mean the end of Elmo, telling viewers, “Elmo is bigger than any one person,” and will continue to be an integral part of “Sesame Street” to engage, educate and inspire children around the world, as it has for 40 years.”

 

Really? The shocking news that he inappropriately used work email to communicate in a personal relationship?

 

I suspect that if the accuser was a 23 year old woman, we would be seeing a lot less of this kind of garbage.

 

More and more I would like to see some private but powerful Commissioner of Journalism, kind of like David Stern in the NBA, who would have the power to fine or put journalists and media outlets on suspension when they commit really bad acts that undermine the credibility of all news reporting in the eyes of the public. I would put people like Peggy Noonan on a 1 week suspension for her glib and flawed punditry before the election, and I would put any news organization that reported this story in a way similar to the Daily News on a 6 month suspension.

[Kevin M.]

As usual, the wingnuts have infested the comments section of the CNN story on its website

--

TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "TV or Not TV" group.
To post to this group, send email to tvor...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
tvornottv-...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Joe Coughlin]

Anyone who does a "Tickle Me Elmo" joke is a hack.

[Mark Jeffries]

But because Elmo never has been "cool" and the people who watched "Sesame Street" before Elmo don't like him (never mind that they ceased being the target audience decades ago), Clash's career, the only thing he's wanted to do since he was a child, gets damaged permanently.  BS.

Mark Jeffries
Saints Spotlight Editor
spotl...@gmail.com

[Bob in Jersey]

What would an organization be suspended from doing? If there's that egregious of an offence, they could be shut down completely, and I don't think their readers or advertisers would take too kindly to that, even for some seemingly-ethic-less outfit like the Gawker Companies.

Penalizing individuals would be enough.

For some reason this reminded me of the opening of the 2007 NASCAR (phone company) Cup season, when nascent car owner / veteran driver Michael Waltrip began the season penalized for a (typically debatable) car modification at Daytona, for which (just based on the day I was at a lunch spot watching on msnbc) he was getting absolutely crucified by people whom you wouldn't think would give a huck about any auto race outside of Indy.

-- BOB

[PGage]

Just to be clear I was not being serious when I said I would like to see a Commisioner of Media News who could suspend journalists for credibility violations. We actually already have editors and executive producers who should be filling that role, and the penalty for multiple credibility violations should be that bad reporters and editors get fired, and the public should stop buying/clicking on low credibility sources of information (but of course that is not going to happen).

 

 

[Bob in Jersey]

In addition to my earlier observations, there would be interminable disputes as to how such a commissioner's office would be funded, and you just know that some government types will try to get their two cents in.

OT: I'm not in a great mood... I was asked to create a template for a chart for my parents to keep track of a certain aspect of their finances for purposes of their estate... in OpenOffice, enabling me to set specific page margins and table size... only to have my blankety-blank dad import it into Juno 8.8 to print, f___ing it up royally.

-- BOB

[Kevin M.]

Of course, in much smaller print today, the much less tantalizing headline that Clash's accuser has rescinded all accusations.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/13/man-says-relationship-with-elmo-puppeteer-adult-consensual/?hpt=hp_t3

--
TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "TV or Not TV" group.
To post to this group, send email to tvor...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
tvornottv-...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Mark Jeffries]

And of course the comment morons are still calling Clash a "perv" because he's a puppeteer.  Wanna guess who they voted for?

Mark Jeffries
Saints Spotlight Editor
spotl...@gmail.com

[Bob in Jersey]

TheSmokingGun has unmasked the accuser: a Pennsylvania native, washed-up actor and model, once worked for a small production firm in NY, busted for theft of a necklace, et al...

-- BOB

[Kevin M.]

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 2:03 PM, Bob in Jersey <bob.in...@juno.com> wrote:

TheSmokingGun has unmasked the accuser: a Pennsylvania native, washed-up actor and model, once worked for a small production firm in NY, busted for theft of a necklace, et al...

Well, as Elmo once said to Homer Simpson, "Elmo knows where you live!"

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Bob in Jersey]

But wait, there's more!  TMZ early Saturday claims multiple sources say Clash paid Stephens 125G to recant... no comment from Clash's lawyer...  -- BOB

[Joe Hass]

And, in the almost saddest possible ending of this whole clusterfuck
that should leave every single member of the media who was involved in
this a layer of disgusting filth that will never, ever wash away,
Clash resigned today.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/kevin-clash-elmo-puppeteer-resigns

[Kevin M.]

Yeah, USA Today, LA Times, Detroit Free Press, Seattle PI, Slate, and -- of course -- Perez Hilton are on my list of banned "sources." OK, Hilton was already on the list, as was the LA dog trainer. These news outlets rushed to be first at the expense of being accurate, and it cost a man his career and his dream. I don't say this often, but those who made this happen should rot in hell.

--
TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "TV or Not TV" group.
To post to this group, send email to tvor...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
tvornottv-...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

[M-D November]

I'm hoping that Clash finds his way to working with the Henson Company*, either by joining the cast of Muppets 2 or their touring "Stuffed & Unstrung" show.  He's too talented for his career to end like this.

*the Henson mothership is owned by Disney and, IIRC, totally unaffiliated with the non-profit Sesame Workshop, so there wouldn't a (direct) conflict of interest.

[Bob in Jersey]

I won't bother to post a URL for the TMZ page where this second accuser (who looks womanly compared to the first) was shown at a presser with his lawyer detailing his encounters with Clash... frankly, these creeps jobbed the media.  -- BOB

[Melissa P]

Clash should’ve hired Travolta’s attorney.

--