After an artist accused painter Kehinde Wiley of sexual assault in a Instagram post on SundayMr. Wiley denied the allegations, saying on your own Instagram account that “somebody with whom I had a short, consensual relationship almost three years in the past is now making a false accusation about our time collectively.”
“These statements are usually not true and are an affront to all victims of sexual abuse,” Wiley added.
Wiley, born in Los Angeles, is likely one of the best-known painters in america and well-known for his 2018 portrait of President Barack Obama.
On Sunday, Joseph Awuah-Darko, a UK-born Ghanaian artist and founding father of the Noldor Artist Residency in Ghana, stated in a prolonged Instagram publish that on June 9, 2021, Mr. Wiley assaulted him twice throughout and after of a dinner in Ghana that was held in honor of the well-known artist. Within the first incident, Awuah-Darko stated he was directing Wiley to a toilet when the star immediately grabbed his buttocks.
Later that night time, Awuah-Darko stated, a second assault occurred that was “rather more severe and violent.” Awuah-Darko didn’t elaborate on this incident on Instagram, however in a cellphone interview stated a sexual encounter started consensually, however later moved to a bed room, the place he says Mr. Awuah after Mr. Awuah -Darko stated he did not wish to go any additional.
Awuah-Darko confirmed The New York Instances textual content exchanges he stated he had with Mr. Wiley after the encounter, wherein he repeatedly instructed Mr. Awuah-Darko stated he initially satisfied himself that his encounters with Wiley had been romantic. It was solely within the fall of 2023, after remedy, that he admitted to himself that the incidents had been assaults and instructed a good friend what had occurred.
“I’m conscious that I’m not the right sufferer of sexual assault,” Awuah-Darko stated, “however that’s what occurred to me. I hope different individuals come ahead.”
In an emailed assertion, Mr. Wiley stated that Mr. Awuah-Darko “has been attempting to be part of my life since we met. He flew to Nigeria to attend my birthday celebration, tried to go to my residence in upstate New York, despatched me heat and pleasant textual content messages, and attended my exhibit on the de Younger Museum in San Francisco nearly a 12 months in the past. 12 months, posting on Instagram that his ‘pricey good friend’s’ present was ‘breathtaking’.”
On Sunday, Wiley’s attorneys despatched Awuah-Darko a stop and desist letter, shared with The Instances, demanding that the Ghanaian artist delete his Instagram posts and chorus from making what they stated had been false statements in opposition to Wiley. Awuah-Darko stated on Sunday that he had not seen the letter.
No felony prices had been filed in opposition to Mr. Wiley; Awuah-Darko stated the allegations wouldn’t be dealt with properly in Ghana, the place Parliament handed a invoice in February that imposing prison sentences on people who identify as LGBTQ or set up gay advocacy teams.
