LMFAO! EVIL ELMO IS BACK ON TIME SQUARE!

Elmo's back! A rogue version of the lovable "Sesame Street" star has returned to hassling Times Square tourists.
The creepy character disappeared for several months after The News reported on his R-rated shakedowns last year.

But he was back in action recently outside of Planet Hollywood.

"Five dollars! Five dollars!" the dirty impostor shouted as he swiped at a tourist's camera with his dirty red paw. "No five dollars, no picture of Elmo."

"It's a free country. Don't touch me," said Amanda Kelly-Knox, 36, as she angrily steered her baby stroller away.

"Ok, give Elmo two dollars. Two dollars for Elmo picture," the character unsuccessfully counteroffered to the fleeing mom.

The showdown left the mother of two from Bucks County, Pa., feeling violated during her long weekend in the city.

"I'm just disgusted. The thing is, I don't mind giving a dollar, but that furry red thing was too aggressive. I think it swore at me. I wasn't going to let my daughter anywhere near it," said Kelly-Knox.

"I also think it kind of smelled," she added.

Other tourists tried to avoid a confrontation.

Jed Lehman, 47, from Trenton, went out of his way to shield his 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, from the masked menace after hearing him taunt passersby.

"What's happened to society? Now Elmo is trying to shake down kids for a dollar? Only in New York," said Lehman.

Asked why he was so grumpy, the fake Elmo said he was misunderstood.

"I'm not being rude. Taking an Elmo picture without paying is rude. It's called making a living," said the character, who refused to give his real name or take off his costume head.

The Elmo impostor was ordered off the street an hour later by the NYPD, to the satisfaction of at least one of his costumed colleagues.

A man dressed up as Batman, who also refused to reveal his true identity, said the pseudo-Elmo is sullying the names of the other friendly Times Square characters.

"That Elmo isn't age-appropriate. He swears and curses. Times Square was better when he was gone," the caped crusader said. "He gives a bad name to all character actors. Someone calls 911 on Elmo, and they clear us all off the street.

"Go away - and stay away, Elmo!"