Mickalene Thomas’s former fiancée, curator and model Racquel Chevremont, has filed a summons against the artist, accusing her of sexual harassment and claiming she owes at least $10 million in damages. The summons, signed in Manhattan on 8 August, cites breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, and retaliation, alleging that Thomas created a hostile working environment and improperly diverted funds from their jointly-owned entity. Chevremont, who collaborated with Thomas for a decade and appeared in several of her works, claims she was underpaid despite a written agreement and that Thomas terminated her employment after she refused to resume their romantic relationship.
This case matters because it involves a prominent contemporary artist and raises serious questions about power dynamics, financial exploitation, and harassment in artist-assistant or artist-partner relationships within the art world. The allegations, if proven, could affect Thomas’s reputation and market standing, especially given that a portrait of Chevremont holds Thomas’s auction record at $1.8 million. The lawsuit also highlights broader issues of accountability and fair compensation for collaborators, particularly those from marginalized communities, in an industry where such disputes often remain private.