Kehinde Wiley denies allegations of sexual abuse by the artist

After an artist accused painter Kehinde Wiley of sexual assault in an Instagram post on Sunday, Mr Wiley denied the allegations, saying on his own Instagram account: “Someone I had a brief, consensual relationship with almost three years ago , now make false accusations about our time together.”

“These allegations are untrue and are an affront to all victims of sexual abuse,” Mr. Wiley added.

Mr. Wiley, who was born in Los Angeles, is one of the best-known painters in the United States, famous for his 2018 portrait of President Barack Obama.

On Sunday, Joseph Awuah-Darko, a British-born Ghanaian artist and founder of the Noldor Artist Residency in Ghana, said in a lengthy Instagram post that Mr. Wiley attacked him twice on June 9, 2021, during and after a dinner in Ghana , which took place in honor of the famous artist. In the first incident, Mr Awuah-Darko said he was ushering Mr Wiley into a toilet when the star suddenly grabbed his buttocks.

Later that evening, Mr. Awuah-Darko said, there was a second attack that was “much more serious and violent.” Mr. Awuah-Darko did not provide further details about the incident on Instagram, but said in a telephone interview that a sexual encounter began consensually but then moved to a bedroom, where he said Mr. Wiley forced himself on him after Mr Awuah-Darko had said he did not want to go any further.

Mr. Awuah-Darko showed The New York Times a text exchange he said he had with Mr. Wiley after their encounter, in which he repeatedly told Mr. Wiley that he missed him and said he wanted to see each other again. Mr. Awuah-Darko said he initially convinced himself that his encounters with Mr. Wiley were loving. It was only in the fall of 2023, after therapy, that he admitted that the incidents had been assaults and told a friend what had happened.

“I am aware that I am not the perfect victim of sexual assault,” said Mr. Awuah-Darko, “but that is exactly what happened to me. I hope others come forward.”

In an emailed statement, Mr. Wiley said that Mr. Awuah-Darko “has tried to be part of my life since we met.” He flew to Nigeria to attend my birthday party, tried to reach my home in upstate New York sent me warm and heartfelt text messages and attended my exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco almost a year ago and posted on Instagram that his ‘dear friend’s’ show was ‘stunning.’

On Sunday, Mr. Wiley’s lawyers sent Mr. Awuah-Darko a cease-and-desist letter, shared with The Times, asking the Ghanaian artist to delete his Instagram posts and to stop making allegedly false statements against Mr. Wiley. Mr Awuah-Darko said on Sunday that he had not seen the letter.

No criminal charges were filed against Mr. Wiley; Mr. Awuah-Darko said the allegations were not being handled well in Ghana, where parliament passed a bill in February that would impose prison sentences on people who identify as LGBTQ or organize gay advocacy groups.