A Manhattan, New York jury has ruled that Hollywood actor, Robert De Niro’s company, Canal Productions, must pay $1.2 million to his former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson, for gender discrimination and retaliation.
The verdict came after a two-week trial that featured explosive testimony from the 80-year-old actor, who denied being an abusive and sexist boss to Robinson.
De Niro, who did not attend the court on Thursday, November 9 testified late last month that Robinson’s allegations were “all nonsense”. He admitted that he once called her a “f**king spoiled brat” for not waking him up for an important meeting, but insisted that he was never disrespectful or sexually inappropriate.
‘The Godfather’ star actor also acknowledged that he asked her to scratch his back a couple of times, but angrily dismissed it as “nonsense” that there was anything sexual about it.
“OK, twice? You got me! I’m saying this is nonsense,” he fumed on the stand.
“It was never done with any disrespect.”
Robinson, who worked for De Niro for 11 years until April 2019, claimed that De Niro treated her like a “servant” and assigned her tasks that were beneath her title as the VP of Production and Finance.
She said she had to do stereotypically female chores like cleaning his sheets, and that he underpaid her because she was a woman. She also accused him of subjecting her to sexually abusive behavior, such as talking to her on the phone while he urinated.
“I am the VP of Production and Finance and I am ordering vacuum cleaners,” Robinson said during her testimony on Nov. 7.
Robinson also alleged that she was harassed by De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, who she called a “sociopath” who conspired to have her fired and ruin her reputation.
The jury found that Canal Productions was liable for both gender discrimination and retaliation, and awarded Robinson $632,142 in damages for each claim.
Robinson hugged her lawyers when she heard the verdict, and was seen smiling as she left the courthouse.
“She feels vindicated,” her attorney, Brent Hannafan, said.
“The jury saw what Ms. Robinson saw and completely vindicated her.”
The legal battle between De Niro and Robinson started when Canal sued Robinson in August 2019, accusing her of stealing millions of Delta SkyMiles, spending thousands on Ubers and dinners, and watching “Friends” on Netflix while she was supposed to be working.
Robinson was cleared of all these charges by the jury.
De Niro’s attorney, Richard Schoenstein, said he was pleased that the jury did not find De Niro personally liable, but he was surprised by the amount of damages awarded to Robinson. He said he might file a motion to reduce the damages.
“It struck me as a compromise verdict,” he said.
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