Joseph Awuah-Darko, a leading figure in Ghana’s art community, has taken to Instagram to make serious accusations against globally renowned artist Kehinde Wiley, alleging sexual assault.
According to Awuah-Darko, the incidents occurred during a dinner held on June 9, 2021, at the Creative Art Council within the Noldor Artist Residency, an establishment he founded in 2020.
In a post dated May 19, Joseph recounted the first assault, stating that Wiley had groped his buttocks while he was accompanying him and another guest upstairs to the bathroom.
He emphasized that this action was entirely uncalled for and unprovoked, and claimed it was witnessed by another attendee, though not identified.
“In the first assault, I was inappropriately groped by Kehinde Wiley who proceeded to grab my buttocks with his hand before then saying something along the lines of “What is this thing?”. This happened in front of another dinner guest, while I was politely ushering them both up flights of stairs to use the bathroom during said dinner.”
Joseph Awuah-Darko
According to him, he had barely known Wiley for more than two hours and was stunned by his actions.
Describing the second assault as more severe and violent, Awuah-Darko did not delve into specifics.
However, he wished for the wheels of justice to catch up with Wiley as he claimed that there were several other victims of Kehinde Wiley’s alleged sexual assault behavior.
“All I can do is pray for the strength, resources, and support to see justice through and hope that others come forward to put an end to this pattern of abuse.”
Joseph Awuah-Darko
These allegations have ignited a wave of responses across social media platforms.
Many have voiced condemnation, viewing the situation as involving homosexual conduct, while others have criticized Kehinde Wiley’s actions, branding them as perverse.
Additionally, some have expressed sympathy and solidarity with Joseph for enduring such challenging circumstances.
Nigerian Artist Responds To Sexual Assault Claims
Nigerian artist, Kehinde Wiley, addressed allegations made against him by his Ghanaian counterpart, Joseph Awuah-Darko.
While Kehinde acknowledged having had some form of relationship with Joseph three years prior, he emphasized that revisiting the past now was unnecessary.
“Someone I had a brief consensual relationship with almost three years ago is now making a false accusation about our time together.”
Kehinde Wiley
He expressed dismay at Joseph’s accusations, viewing them as an insult to all victims of sexual abuse, and suggesting they were part of a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation.
“These claims are not true and are an affront to all victims of sexual abuse. I have no idea why he has decided to target me in this way. Particularly, when there is a litany of evidence showing his claims are false.”
Kehinde Wiley
Despite this, Kehinde expressed hope that Joseph finds the support he requires for whatever he may be experiencing. He also appealed for privacy as he endeavors to clear his name.
“I hope he gets the help he needs for whatever he is going through. I kindly ask for privacy as I work to clear my name.”
Kehinde Wiley
In a longer statement supplied via his press representative, Marathon Strategies, Wiley made some deep revelations.
“He has been trying to be part of my life ever since we met, flying to Nigeria to attend my birthday party, attempting to visit my home in upstate in New York, sending me warm and cordial text messages, and almost a year ago to the day attending my exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and posting to Instagram that the show by his ‘dear friend’ was ‘breathtaking’.”
Kehinde Wiley
The PR firm supplied screengrabs of numerous text messages exchanged between Awuah-Darko and Wiley spanning from the period of the alleged assault to Awuah-Darko’s Instagram posts, which included the now-deleted May 27, 2023 post where Awuah-Darko affectionately refers to Wiley as “my dear friend.”
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