Source: Mike Coppola/Getty
Famous artist Kehinde Wiley has been accused of sexual assault by another artist, with Wiley denying the incidents.
According References, award-winning painter Kehinde Wiley was accused of sexual assault. Claims originate from Joseph Awuah-Darko, British Ghanaian artist and founder of the Noldor Artist Residency in Ghana. Awuah-Darko made the allegations in an Instagram post he made on Sunday (May 19). “I hope my words and my honesty about my painful experience will empower others to come forward,” Awuah-Darko wrote in the caption. “I hope all that unfolds creates a path not only to accountability, but also to retribution and collective healing for other victims.”
Awuah-Darko said Wiley sexually assaulted him twice while the two were at a dinner hosted by the Ghana Creative Arts Council at the Noldor Artists Residency in 2021. “The act was unequivocally uncalled for and unprovoked,” he wrote, stating that the first incident happened within two hours of being at dinner. “THE second [italicsbyartist)theassaultwasmuchmoresevereandviolent”Awuah-Darkodidnotdescribethesecondassaultbutwentontosaythatittookhim“timetodealwiththerealityofmyabuse”lent”Awuah-Darkodidn'tdescribethesecondassaultbutwenttoasythatittookhimtimeto“confronttherealityofmyabuseassuch”HealsostatedthathewouldbeseekinglegalactionagainstWileybutacknowledgedinanemailtothe[πλάγιαγράμματατουκαλλιτέχνη)ηεπίθεσηήτανπολύπιοσοβαρήκαιβίαιη»ΟAwuah-Darkoδενπεριέγραψετηδεύτερηεπίθεσηαλλάσυνέχισελέγονταςότιτουπήρεχρόνογιανα«αντιμετωπίσειτηνπραγματικότητατηςκακοποίησήςμουωςτέτοια»ΔήλωσεεπίσηςότιθαζητούσενομικήδράσηκατάτουWileyαλλάτοαναγνώρισεσεέναemailστο[italicsbytheartist)assaultwasmuchmoresevereandviolent”Awuah-Darkodidn’tdescribethesecondassaultbutwentontosaythatittookhimtimeto“confronttherealityofmyabuseassuch”HealsostatedthathewouldbeseekinglegalactionagainstWileybutacknowledgedinanemailtotheNew York Times that given the passage of a new law imprisoning LGBTQ people in Ghana may not go down well.
Wiley has vehemently denied the allegations by Awuah-Darko. “Someone I had a brief, consensual relationship with is now making false, hurtful and defamatory accusations about our time together,” he wrote in part on his own Instagram post. “I kindly request privacy as I work to clear my name.” The 48-year-old artist forwarded a copy of a cease-and-desist letter he sent to Awuah-Darko to the Times in addition to an email where he said Awuah-Darko “has been trying to be a part of my life since he met.”