Accuser of Elmo's puppeteer recants his recantation, fearing it may have caused some to question his credibility

Despite having wrapped with a tidy out-of-court settlement—and despite this immediately ensuring no one would ever again mention the voice of Elmo being involved in a possible sex scandal—Kevin Clash's accuser, Sheldon Stephens, now says he wants to recant his recantation and renew his allegations against Clash, as well as the sick, squirmy dread you feel whenever your child sees a picture of Elmo on the news.

The surprise move comes after Stephens found himself the target of inquiries into his own reputation, when The Smoking Gun delved into Stephens' background to identify him as a "struggling model" who friends say "attracts high-powered men," and who was once arrested for stealing at knifepoint some $250,000 in jewelry from a music manager who'd just fired him. Naturally, this—combined with reports of a quick pay-off—caused some to question Stephens' motivations for accusing Elmo's puppeteer, besides the all-consuming blackness currently pursuing us all.

Stephens now maintains that his initial accusation was the truth, with TMZ reporting that Stephens was "literally crying" during his settlement negotiations and stating "repeatedly" that "he didn't want to sign" the statement retracting his initial charge, but that he was coerced again into a non-consensual act that he only now realizes is wrong. Stephens is said to be meeting with lawyers about helping him undo his settlement, hoping that forfeiting the money and returning to his initial story will help him "restore his name." Indeed, it would be unfortunate if this whole thing ended up doing irreparable damage to someone just because of some lies and some money.