Elmo Puppeteer 'Paid Off' Accuser in Sex Scandal

Seems the Elmo sex scandal is far from over. Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who breathes life into Elmo, paid a young accuser $125,000 to recant his story about being under-aged when the two were lovers, TMZ reports. The gossip site unearthed an agreement in which Clash told the man, Sheldon Stevens, to call their relationship "adult" and "consensual" in return for the payoff.

"Stephens agrees that immediately upon execution of this Agreement," Stephens' attorney will say that Stephens "wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship," the document states. Adding fuel to the fire, insiders tell TMZ that Stephens was pressured into signing the agreement and cried during the last negotiations. No word so far from Clash's lawyer. Click for more details. (More Kevin Clash stories.)