Kevin Clash, voice of "Sesame Street's" Elmo resigns following sex scandal

Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the iconic "Sesame Street" character Elmo has resigned following allegations of an underage romantic relationship - that was later recanted.

Clash appeared on Erin Burnett OutFront in November 2011 and talked about being the voice of Elmo.

OutFront: Erin, Elmo, and the Documentary, 'Being Elmo'

Elmo puppeteer resigns following relationship controversy

The puppeteer who provided the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street" for nearly three decades has resigned following a controversy in which a man allegedly made – and then recanted – accusations that the puppeteer engaged in underage romantic relationship with him, the show announced Tuesday.

Kevin Clash, 52, had been the show's Elmo puppeteer and voice for 28 years.

"Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us wants, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street," Sesame Workshop said in a statement. "This is a sad day for Sesame Street."

Earlier this month, Clash went on personal leave to fight what he said were false and defamatory allegations that he and the other man had started a relationship when the other man was 16.

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