Artist Kehinde Wiley has been accused of sexual assault by fellow artist Ogechi Chieke in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on February 28, just before the expiration of an amendment to New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. Chieke alleges that Wiley assaulted her at a New York restaurant in 2007, including grabbing her buttocks and vagina and making a lewd comment. Wiley denies the allegations, stating he has never met Chieke and calling the lawsuit a "blatant money-grab." This is the first legal filing among multiple sexual assault allegations against Wiley, which previously surfaced on Instagram from several men, including Joseph Awuah-Darko and Terrell Armistead.
This lawsuit matters because it marks the first time allegations against Wiley have entered a legal setting, potentially setting a precedent for accountability. The case has already had institutional consequences: several museums, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, have canceled planned exhibitions of Wiley's work. As a high-profile artist best known for painting Barack Obama's official presidential portrait, Wiley's legal troubles could affect his career, museum partnerships, and broader conversations about power and misconduct in the art world.