# Barack Obama portrait artist accused of holing up rent-free in $18,000-a-month Manhattan apartment as he disputes five separate sexual assault allegations

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/barack-obama-portrait-artist-accused-of-holing-up-rent-free-in-18000-a-month-manhattan-apartment-as-he-disputes-five-separate-sexual-assault-allegations/
- Published: 2026-11-11T16:28:51+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T16:49:48+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16281751/barack-obama-portrait-artist-kehinde-wiley-allegations-new-york.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Wiley’s landlord says he stayed after his lease expired.
- The landlord is seeking $36,000 in unpaid rent.
- Wiley disputes five sexual assault allegations.

## Summary

Kehinde Wiley, the artist who painted Barack Obama’s official portrait, is accused by his landlord of remaining in a Greenwich Village apartment after his lease expired on 30 September. The landlord has filed a complaint seeking unpaid rent, while Wiley also faces five sexual assault allegations, all of which he disputes.

The three-storey, 3,800-square-foot property was rented for $18,000 a month. The complaint seeks $36,000 for the period since the lease ended and says another $18,000 will accrue for each month Wiley stays. His lease began in 2023 and was renewed through September 2026; the allegations against him include an ongoing lawsuit brought by one woman under New York State’s Gender Motivated Violence Act.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.