Kehinde Wiley Accused of Sexual Assault

Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko, the founder of Ghana’s Noldor Artist Residency, has accused acclaimed American painterKehinde Wiley, who is widely known for his 2018 portrait of President Barack Obama, of sexually assaulting him three years ago. The alleged incidents took place while the pair were at a June 9, 2021, dinner given by Ghana’s Creative Arts Council in honor of Wiley at the Noldor Artist Residency.

In a May 19Instagrampost, Awuah-Darko alleged that during the event, the American artist grabbed his buttocks without consent as he aided him in finding a bathroom. According to Awuah-Darko, Wiley subjected him to a “much more severe and violent” assault later that evening. The Ghanaian artist told theNew York Timesthat Wiley had forced himself on him in the course of what began as a consensual sexual encounter. Awuah-Darko said that formally reporting the assault would have been “problematic” in Ghana, “where anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments are prevalent.”

Wiley in his own Instagram post later that same day wrote, “Someone I had a brief, consensual relationship with almost three years ago is now making a false accusation about our time together. These claims are not true and are an affront to all victims of sexual abuse.” In a statement to the Times, Wiley noted that Awuah-Darko had “been trying to be part of my life ever since we met. He flew to Nigeria to attend my birthday party, attempted to visit my home in upstate New York, sent me warm and cordial text messages, and attended my exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco almost a year ago, posting on Instagram that the show by his ‘dear friend’ was ‘breathtaking.’”

Awuah-Darko told the paper that he had seen the encounters as loving at the time but, after therapy, had come to realize two years later that they were assaults. The paper reports that Wiley’s attorneys on May 19 sent Awuah-Darko a cease-and-desist letter calling for the removal of the accusatory Instagram post and demanding the artist refrain from making what they cast as false statements against Wiley. Awuah-Darko on Sunday said he had not yet seen the letter.