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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
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.
In short
- 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.
Explained simply
Kehinde Wiley is an American artist known for painting formal portraits of prominent Black figures in settings inspired by European art. In 2018, he painted the official portrait of former US president Barack Obama for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
Wiley is also facing five sexual assault allegations, which he disputes. One woman has brought a civil lawsuit under New York State’s Gender Motivated Violence Act, a law that allows people to sue over certain acts of violence motivated by gender.
The apartment dispute is a separate matter between Wiley and his landlord over what happens after a tenancy ends. It involves claims for unpaid rent and continued occupation of the property, issues handled through New York’s housing and civil law.