Robert De Niro spent a long and stressful day in a New York courtroom defending himself against gender discrimination accusations made by his former executive assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. On Monday, the trial began in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, with De Niro testifying as the first witness.
Vice President of Production and Finance at De Niro’s Canal Productions, Robinson, claims that while working for him, she was subjected to inappropriate comments based on her gender and was underpaid and overworked. She also said De Niro left her an expletive-filled voicemail in which he dubbed her a “spoiled brat” when she didn’t pick up his phone. Robinson also said that she was expected to do housework and laundry, all of which are stereotypically female activities.
Also on trial was Robinson’s accusation that De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, fired her out of jealously over her relationship with the actor. Robinson demanded at least $12 million in damages in her initial complaint that was filed in July 2021.
Canal Productions sued Robinson for $6 million in August 2019, accusing her of misusing business credit cards and spending too much time watching television at work.
De Niro has refuted Robinson’s allegations, saying that she stole money from the company. The jury also looked at evidence from De Niro’s case against Robinson, in which he sought to recoup three years’ worth of Robinson’s income.
When asked about claims during his testimony, De Niro became defensive. He firmly denied reports that he required Robinson to execute a variety of jobs. He acknowledged calling her at 4:30 a.m. , but said it was a solitary event. De Niro denied treating Robinson poorly and said that Robinson asked to be promoted from her position as assistant to vice president of finance and production.
He confessed that there were no official policies in place, preferring instead to rely on common sense when instructing his staff. When Robinson and Chen got into an argument about Robinson moving paintings in Chen’s townhouse, De Niro said he just wanted Robinson to be happy and to “play nice” with Chen.
The trial is set to continue until November 10.
