Steve Whitmire, 58, had been voicing the Muppets’ flagship character for the 27 years since Jim Henson died. He says, “The only thing I’ve done my whole adult life, and it’s just been taken away from me. I just couldn’t understand why we couldn’t resolve this.” The head of the Muppets Studio, on the other hand, says, “We raised concerns about Steve’s repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years, and he consistently failed to address the feedback.”