Maria Elena Fernandez is a former senior entertainment reporter for Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She previously covered television and nightlife for the Los Angeles Times and spent many years on the crime beat, writing for The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also worked at the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, where she covered the AIDS epidemic. Her children’s book, The Secret of Fern Island, was published in 1996 under a pseudonym so that she wouldn’t be stalked by screaming children.

THEIR STORIES

Maria Elena Fernandez interviews two of Kevin Clash’s accusers and the attorney of the third to piece together the events that led to the beloved puppeteer stepping down last month.

SEX SCANDAL

Three men have come forward to accuse Sesame Street puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with them when they were minors. Now, two tell their stories to Maria Elena Fernandez as they fight off charges of being money-hungry opportunists. Read their accounts here and here, and the complaint of the third accuser here.

Elmo Accuser No. 2

Cecil Singleton didn’t know how famous Kevin Clash was when they met, he says, over a gay phone-chat line. Here he tells Maria Elena Fernandez about the details of the relationship. Read the other accounts here and here.

Dumber & Duller

Across the TV dial, female characters on Revenge, The Good Wife, and other shows have gone from fabulous to dull. Maria Elena Fernandez on the lackluster season for some of TV’s favorite ladies.