(Photo : David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Actor Robert De Niro arrives at federal court on October 30, 2023 in New York City. De Niro sued his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson for stealing millions of frequent-flyer miles and binge-watching "Friends" and Netflix on the job. Robinson then counter-sued for $12 million, alleging verbal harassment and discrimination.
On Monday, Robert De Niro attended a trial as a witness in New York City and denied the workplace abuse allegations of a former personal assistant who filed a lawsuit against him.
Graham Chase Robinson, former personal assistant of De Niro, worked for the actor between 2008 and 2019. She sued De Niro for $12m in damages for severe emotional distress and reputational harm.
De Niro Dismisses Abuse Allegations
De Niro was the first witness to testify in the lawsuit trial filed by Robinson and said he had registered Robinson as his emergency contact once. He admitted that he relied on her to help with greeting cards for his children.
Robinson said that she was paid $300,000 yearly before she quit as his vice president of production and finance. According to the lawsuit, De Niro refused to give her a reference to find another job when she resigned in 2019 after repeated confrontations with his girlfriend.
De Niro mocked a lawyer when asked if he considered Robinson a dedicated employee and said, "Not after everything I'm going through now."
During De Niro's testimony, he raised his voice twice while defending the interactions his girlfriend had with Robinson.
According to The Messenger, Robinson claimed she was asked to work, including holidays, birthdays, and weekends. She said De Niro wanted her to update him on her whereabouts and travel plans.
Robinson said she had overworked herself and was even tasked to decorate De Niro's Christmas tree and take him to the hospital when he fell downstairs early in the morning.
"That was one time when I cracked my back falling down the stairs!" De Niro almost shouted. He explained that he delayed his call to Robinson as the accident occurred at 1 a.m. and called her to come at 4 a.m.
De Niro requested to ask a question to Robinson's lawyer, but Judge Lewis J Liman denied his request. The judge explained the rules of testimony to De Niro and said there were limits to what he could tell in the trial.
The lawsuit added that De Niro bought a five-bedroom Manhattan townhouse and made Robinson organize preparations so he and his girlfriend could move in together.
De Niro shouted and said that it was not like he made her scrape floors and mop the floor. He said, "So this is all nonsense!"
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De Niro's Girlfriend Accuses Robinson
Tiffany Chen, the girlfriend of De Niro, was suspicious of Robinson's actions and motives towards his boyfriend. She said Robinson acted like De Niro's wife and imagined intimacy with De Niro.
De Niro agreed to Chen's suspicions and said that he also felt the same thing and maybe his girlfriend was right all along.
De Niro's company, Canal Productions, filed a lawsuit against Robinson, alleging she embezzled money and watched Netflix during work hours.
The trial will be ongoing for two weeks, and De Niro will come and testify again on Tuesday.
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