Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer who for 28 years has made Sesame Street’s Elmo come alive for kids, has resigned because “the controversy surrounding [his] personal life has become a distraction,” Sesame Workshop said this morning.

Last week, Clash went on leave after a now-adult man alleged that they had a sexual relationship when the accuser was still a minor. Clash denied they had a relationship when the other man was underage. The accuser later recanted, then reversed himself and said he had been pressured to drop the accusation.

Today, a second accuser filed a suit alleging that he also had a sexual relationship with Clash when he (the accuser) was a minor, his attorney tells The Associated Press. TMZ.com broke the news of the second accusation.

—- via The Two Way, Breaking News from NPR

Click here for the Fresh Air interview with Kevin Clash

Photo credit: Scott McDermott/Being Elmo

They really don’t look at me when they see Elmo. They run to Elmo because it’s a friend of theirs that they’ve been talking to and communicating with and singing with for so many years. We’ve found that the delusion is not broken by seeing us puppeteers. — Kevin Clash

I love the simplicity of Sesame Street characters. I love that [Elmo is] just an orange nose and two eyes and no tongue — just a black mouth — and you just find that by just the tilt of the head or looking up, it says something. There’s an emotion there.

— Kevin Clash: Making Elmo Come To Life

[And then I’d say,] ‘Give Elmo a hug and let’s sing. I tried to pull them away from it as much as possible. Mommy and Daddy were there to explain a little bit more, and we’re there to entertain and try and take them away from it.

— Kevin Clash on visiting with small kids affected by September 11th. 

They really don’t look at me when they see Elmo. They run to Elmo because it’s a friend of theirs that they’ve been talking to and communicating with and singing with for so many years. We’ve found that the delusion is not broken by seeing us puppeteers.

— Kevin Clash, the man behind Sesame Street’s Elmo. 

Meet Kevin Clash. Over the past 25 years, Clash has transformed Elmo into one of the most recognizable characters on Sesame Street.

One of tomorrow’s guests is red, furry, 3, and yes, he’s interviewed Neil Patrick Harris. He also has his own theme song. (Kevin Clash and Elmo are our guests.)