“Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”: Robert De Niro Reportedly Shouts at Discrimination Trial, Claims He Was Not Abusive to His Former Assistant
Things are getting heated between Robert De Niro and his former assistant as they face off in court. Reports suggested that De Niro shouted at his former employee during the court proceedings. In 2019, De Niro filed a lawsuit against former employee Graham Chase Robinson, accusing her of embezzlement. Later, Robinson countersued claiming that she was discriminated against based on her gender which led to her resignation. She also claimed that De Niro’s lawsuit was a retaliation measure against her.
Robinson joined as an assistant to the Raging Bull actor in 2008 and later became the Vice President of Finance and Production at his company, Canal Productions. According to her, the trouble began when De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, accused her of being in love with De Niro and removed her from several household duties, which led to her resignation.
Robert De Niro Was Visibly Agitated During His Testimony
Initially, a judge had ruled out Chase Robinson’s claims that Robert De Niro‘s lawsuit was a retaliation measure. The judge noted that her legal concerns about gender discrimination were raised only after she resigned, which meant De Niro’s lawsuit did not fall under ’employment action’. Robinson has since appealed the verdict of the judge.
When The Intern actor took the stand on Tuesday to provide his testimony, he was enraged by some of the claims made by Robinson’s attorney, Andrew Macurdy. Reports suggested (via The Messenger) that De Niro even shouted at Robinson from the stand, using the words, “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”.
Macurdy had alleged that The Godfather actor would urinate on phone calls with Robinson. De Niro vehemently denied the claim, and retorted, “Give me a break with that nonsense. You get us all here for this?”. However, the Taxi Driver actor did admit that he may have called her a “spoiled brat” and berated her once when she failed to wake him up for an important meeting. But he assured the jury that he was never abusive towards his former assistant. He stated during the trial:
“I’ve raised my voice. I don’t yell. You wanna dispute that? That’s one thing I don’t do.”
The Goodfellas actor also added that he might have used the word “b*tch” at some point, but emphasized that he never crossed a line with his behavior.
Robert De Niro Finds His Assistant’s Case As “Nonsense”
Macurdy also presented claims that Robert De Niro had asked Robinson to scratch his back and even made her order a martini in the middle of the night. The Casino actor admitted to both claims but clarified that he was not being disrespectful. When pressed on the claims, the Killers of the Flower Moon actor stated, “OK, twice? You got me! I’m saying this is nonsense. It was never done with any disrespect.”
Before his testimony on Tuesday, De Niro expressed his thoughts on the case, stating, “This whole case is nonsense.” He was also questioned about his text messages sent to his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, where he wrote, “The balls, the nerve… how dare her,” in response to Robinson’s settlement demand upon quitting her job.
Graham Chase Robinson reportedly had a handsome $300,000 monthly salary. However, Canal Productions allegedly found out that she had transferred over 5 million Delta Skymiles to her personal account. While the earlier judge had dismissed Robinson’s retaliation claims, the possibility remains that the jury may find merit in her allegations of gender discrimination.
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