In honoring Mickalene Thomas this spring as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2025, 16-time Grammy-winner Alicia Keys called the celebrated American contemporary artist “a mastermind at conveying poignant messages through striking visuals.”
“Mickalene herself is walking art,” Keys wrote in her paean to the 54-year-old Brooklyn resident. “She has such a distinct presence and aura that it’s impossible not to feel inspired by her. The art and the artist both are bold, fearless, and fierce.”
But according to Thomas’ former fiancée Racquel Chevremont, who continued to partner professionally with Thomas following the pair’s 2020 breakup, the artist sexually harassed her, created a “hostile” and “abusive” working environment and shorted her out of millions of dollars over the course of their decade-long relationship.
That’s according to previously unreported court documents obtained by The Independent, which reveal Chevremont wants a minimum of $10 million from Thomas over allegations that include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, retaliation and violations of state and local human rights laws.
Thomas’s work can also be found in, among other places, MoMA, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Jay-Z’s Manhattan offices. Thomas’s 2016 mixed-media rendering of Chevremont, a well-regarded art curator and consultant who joined the Real Housewives of New York cast last year, sold at auction five years later for more than $1.8 million.
Messages sent to Thomas’s work and personal email addresses went unanswered. Chevremont’s legal and management teams did not respond to requests for comment.
In a summons and notice filed in New York State Supreme Court on August 8, Chevremont says she is now seeking “redress for years of exploitation, nonpayment and unlawful conduct.”
“From 2012 to 2022, Ms. Chevremont, who is also Ms. Thomas’ former fiancée, contributed immeasurably to Ms. Thomas’ artistic and commercial success, acting as a strategic advisor, and liaison to galleries, collectors, and institutions,” the filing contends. “Despite these work-related contributions, Ms. Chevremont was paid improperly for more than a decade, both as an employee and under a written agreement effective January 1, 2021, as well as for compensation prior to 2021 and for multimillion-dollar deals she negotiated on Ms. Thomas’ behalf.”
Chevremont was reportedly entitled to a 20 percent cut on sales of commissioned works she helped land.
The filing further accuses Thomas of having “illegally diverted significant funds and business opportunities from her and Ms. Chevremont’s jointly-owned entity” to her own LLC.
“In addition to diverting funds and not properly compensating Ms. Chevremont, Ms. Thomas also subjected Ms. Chevremont to a hostile and abusive work environment as well as quid pro quo harassment,” the filing alleges.
Following their split, it says Thomas “repeatedly and improperly pressured Ms. Chevremont to resume their romantic relationship, and ultimately terminated Ms. Chevremont’s employment, in violation of New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, when she made it clear that this would never happen.”
Chevremont is asking a judge to award her “not less than” $10 million, plus interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs.
While they were together, Thomas and Chevremont billed themselves as “Deux Femmes Noires,” and used their resources and connections to boost young Black and LGBT artists. The two first met in 2002, began dating in 2011, and were engaged in 2019, on New Year’s Eve.
Raised in the Bronx, Chevremont has appeared in ad campaigns for L’Oréal, Fila and Benetton. She has two children with ex-husband Corey Baylor, a New York City financier, and became the second-ever LGBTQ+ cast member on RHONY when she signed on for season 15.
“My entire adult life has been about representation and using whatever platform I have to get the voices of queer folks of the diaspora out there,” Chevremont told GLAAD in June 2024. “What better way to do so if not as a member of this iconic franchise?”
Bravo, which produces and broadcasts the reality series, announced at the time that Chevremont would be “living out a fairytale” onscreen, and would not “let past rumors from the New York art scene get in the way of her happily ever after.”
Her current fiancée, motorcycle-riding forensic neuropsychologist Mel Corpus, was dubbed “ludicrously hot” by Vogue.
“Mel and I, we’ve been friends for over 12 years,” Chevremont said in her first RHONY episode. “We were very single when we got together, but there was a bit of a scandal. There were a few people that were not all that happy.”
Chevremont announced her engagement to Corpus on the air last October, flaunting a diamond ring that, as PEOPLE magazine joked, could “be seen from outer space.”
Thomas now has a little less than three weeks to formally respond to Chevremont’s allegations.
