Alexander Wang, the New York-based designer known best for his eponymous label and near three-year stint as Balenciaga’s creative director between 2012 and 2015, has been met with allegations of sexual assault. The claims, which have been linked to encounters with other alleged victims since 2015, came to a head following a TikTok by British model Owen Mooney, in which he claimed he was groped by a famous designer at New York’s Slake nightclub in January 2017, later alleging that the designer was Alexander Wang.
“I was by myself at one point and this guy next to me obviously took advantage of the fact that no one could fucking move,” Owen Mooney said in the original TikTok. “And he just started touching me up. Fully up my leg, in my crotch. It made me freeze completely because I was in so much shock.”
Owen Mooney’s claims mirror those made by others, including trans model Gia Garison, who told The Guardian that Wang allegedly exposed her genitals in a club’s VIP area in February 2017, a month after the alleged incident with Owen Mooney. The Guardian also cites another alleged incident of sexual assault between Wang and a construction worker called Nick Ward, who claims to have been groped by the designer in a Brooklyn nightclub in September 2017.
Owen’s original claims spread following reposts by Instagram exposé accounts like @ShitModelMGMT and @Diet_Prada, who collated several anonymous allegations of sexual assault, and highlighted an Instagram story posted by Azealia Banks in 2019 in which she reposted similar stories related to the alleged assault of trans women, tagging Alexander Wang. In 2012, Azealia had been one of Wang’s musical muses.
In early 2017, Wang made R Kelly the face of his eponymous brand, despite years of allegations of sexual misconduct that had already led many stars, such as Lady Gaga, to distance themselves from their work with him. The rapper is set to go on trial for child pornography and obstruction charges in Chicago later this year, with a New York trial scheduled for April following allegations of racketeering. The New York Times writes that the allegations suggest R Kelly “ran a criminal enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact and then isolated and threatened them to keep them under control”.
Wang has since responded to these allegations of sexual assault in a statement to Page Six, which read, in full:
“Over the last few days, I have been on the receiving end of baseless and grotesquely false accusations. These claims have been wrongfully amplified by social media accounts infamous for posting defamatory material from undisclosed and/or anonymous sources with zero evidence or any fact checking whatsoever. Seeing these lies about me being perpetuated as truths has been infuriating.
“I have never engaged in the atrocious behavior described and would never conduct myself in the manner that’s been alleged. I intend to get to the bottom of this and hold accountable whoever is responsible for originating these claims and viciously spreading them online.”
Diet Prada wrapped their post with a statement of their own, asking: “How much longer will money, fame, and celebrity clout excuse [those hit with allegations of sexual harassment] from being held accountable?”
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised within this article, you can seek help from one of the below hotlines:
Safeline (UK): 0808 800 5008
Safeline for Men (UK): 0808 800 500
RAINN (US): 800.656.HOPE