In a legal filing last week, artist Mickalene Thomas faced allegations that she had fostered an “abusive work environment” and mismanaged money brought in by her former romantic partner Racquel Chevremont.
Chevremont, a model, curator, and Real Housewives of New York star who recently aided in the production of the Max TV series And Just Like That…, made those accusations public in a summons filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on August 8. A complaint, typically the document that contains more detailed allegations, has not yet been submitted as part of the case.
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In that summons, Chevremont claimed that she had not been “properly” paid for work done for Thomas. Moreover, Chevremont alleged, Thomas had “illegally diverted significant funds and business opportunities” that Chevremont had helped engineer.
Chevremont and Thomas began a romantic relationship in 2011, becoming a celebrity couple in the art world by the time Thomas had an acclaimed Brooklyn Museum survey the following year. Together, the two would go on to run the platform Deux Femmes Noires, which staged shows and advised institutions, focusing specifically on women and artists of color.
The summons states that they ended their romantic relationship in 2020, seemingly confirming a Page Six report about their breakup that year that was published in 2022.
In that article, Chevremont and Thomas said in a joint statement that they had “ended our long-term personal relationship but remain committed to completing our current projects.” But in the summons, Chevremont alleged that that their professional relationship remained strained afterward.
“In addition to diverting funds and not properly compensating Ms. Chevremont,” the summons claims, “Ms. Thomas also subjected Ms. Chevremont to a hostile and abusive work environment as well as quid pro quo harassment.” Moreover, Thomas “repeatedly and improperly pressured Ms. Chevremont to resume their romantic relationship, and ultimately terminated Ms. Chevremont’s employment,” according to the summons, which does not provide specifics.
Chevremont said in her summons that she was seeking $10 million from Thomas and her studio.
Representatives for Chevremont and Thomas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
