‘Wire’ actor says journo groped him

An actor from the hit series “The Wire” accused a Brooklyn journalist of sexually abusing him by touching his buttocks on two occasions — but the woman says it was in the context of a consensual relationship, her lawyer said.

Gbenga Akinnagbe, 42, who played the murderous Chris Partlow on the HBO show, claims Lola Adesioye, 38, who writes for The Guardian and other publications, touched and grabbed his rear end in May and June 2020, according to a criminal complaint.

But Adesioye’s lawyer says his client is the real victim and told a judge she will go to trial if the case is not outright dismissed by prosecutors.

“The charges here are a blatant, brazen lie,” Robert Gottlieb said in Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday morning. “Apparently, she pinched his buttocks, which she admitted when she was arrested.”

“Yes, I pinched his bum,” Adesioye said when questioned by police, according to Gottlieb.

She was held in jail for a day and a half before she was arraigned on the charges and released on May 27, 2021, after Akinnagbe (inset) came forward about a year after the incidents.

In “The Wire,” Akinnagbe portrayed a member of a drug-dealing organization who kills many other characters in the show. He is also set to appear in a Shakespeare in the Park production in Central Park this summer.

Adesioye is charged with two counts of forcible touching, sexual abuse and harassment for the encounters.

Gottlieb claims he has three binders full of textual evidence provided by Adesioye of a consensual relationship between the pair. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office did not immediately provide comment.

“It is unquestionable that there was a romantic, flirting relationship between these two people,” Gottlieb said in court, adding that the two texted “incessantly” and that they even texted about sleeping together, cuddling and kissing.

The sexual abuse criminal charge comes after Adesioye and Akinnagbe had already locked horns in civil court, with Adesioye claiming she did unpaid labor for Akinnagbe and the actor claiming that Adesioye — his tenant — failed to pay rent.

She sued in January saying that he owed her more than $14,000. Akinnagbe countersued, alleging Adesioye owed him more than $15,000 in rent. Both suits were eventually settled.