Robert De Niro blurted out, “This is all nonsense!” in frustration on the first day of a trial in New York City over his former personal assistant’s lawsuit accusing the actor of being an abusive boss.
The Oscar winner appeared sullen and initially appeared to be holding back an outburst until it all became too much for him as his interactions with Graham Chase Robinson were analyzed by lawyers.
Robinson worked for De Niro between 2008 and 2019, receiving $300,000 a year, before quitting as his vice president of production and finance.
The woman who spent years doing everything from decorating De Niro’s Christmas tree to transporting him to the hospital after he fell down the stairs has sued him for $12 million in damages for severe emotional distress and defamation of reputation.
Robert De Niro leaves federal court in Manhattan after testifying in the gender discrimination and abuse lawsuit filed against him by Graham Chase Robinson
De Niro’s former assistant Graham Chase Robinson pictured leaving the federal courthouse on Monday
Robinson said he refused to give her a reference to look for another job when she quit in 2019 after repeated arguments with his girlfriend.
De Niro, 80, testified for most of the afternoon and agreed that he once listed Robinson as his emergency contact and relied on her to help him with greeting cards for his children.
But when Robinson’s lawyer asked him if he thought she was a conscientious employee, he scoffed.
“Not after everything I’m going through now,” he said.
De Niro raised his voice almost to a scream twice during his testimony.
The first time he defended his girlfriend’s interactions with Robinson, saying, “We make decisions together.”
The second time occurred when Robinson’s lawyer tried to suggest that De Niro harassed his client early in the morning in 2017 to take him to the hospital.
Robinson was De Niro’s emergency contact.
“That was the time I broke my back falling down the stairs!” De Niro snapped angrily.
In August 2019, actor Robert De Niro sued his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson for watching “Friends” at work and stealing millions of frequent flyer miles
Robinson, who worked for De Niro between 2008 and 2019, was paid $300,000 a year before stepping down as his vice president of production and finance
For years, Robinson was tasked with decorating De Niro’s Christmas tree and taking him to the hospital after he fell down the stairs
Even in that case, he added, he delayed calling Robinson by getting to his bedside at 1 or 2 a.m. after the accident, but then calling her later at 4 or 5 a.m.
De Niro was asked why he didn’t get his then-wife Grace Hightower to take him to the hospital.
“She was sleeping, I didn’t want to disturb her,” the actor said.
Judge Lewis J. Liman repeatedly explained to De Niro the rules of testimony and that there were limits to what he could say.
‘Can I ask a question?’ De Niro asked in a conversation with Robinson’s lawyer. The request was rejected.
He insisted on treating Robinson well even after he bought a five-bedroom townhouse in Manhattan and had Robinson oversee some of the preparations so he could move there with his girlfriend, 45-year-old Tiffany Chen.
“It’s not like I would ask her to go out there and scrape and mop the floor,” he said. “So this is all nonsense!”
Correspondence between De Niro and Chen shown to the jury showed that Chen became increasingly suspicious of Robinson’s motives, saying she believed Robinson had acted as if she were De Niro’s wife and believed she was a “conceited woman.” Intimacy” with De Niro.
Robinson said in her suit that De Niro sometimes yelled at her and called her nasty names, behavior consistent with his sexist comments about women in general
Robinson’s lawsuit accuses De Niro of forcing her to take on the role of his “office wife.”
“She had the feeling that there was something there, and maybe she was right,” De Niro defended his girlfriend’s suspicions.
In opening statements that preceded De Niro’s testimony, attorney Andrew Macurdy said Robinson had been unable to find a job and had been afraid to leave her home since she left her job with De Niro.
He said De Niro sometimes yelled at her and called her nasty names, behavior consistent with his sexist comments about women in general.
Macurdy said the trouble between them arose when Chen became jealous because De Niro relied on Robinson for so many tasks and they communicated so well.
He said his client never had a romantic interest in De Niro.
“Chase Robinson never had a romantic interest in Mr. De Niro. Zero, none. “He was their boss and that was all,” he said.
“There was never anything romantic between them.”
Hannafan added on Robinson’s behalf that Chen was “jealous” of the relationship.
At one point, De Niro testified that Chen told him that Robinson was “in love” with him.
De Niro said he initially disagreed with his girlfriend, but then agreed with her opinion.
“I said I couldn’t believe it, but in hindsight maybe she was right,” he testified.
De Niro went on to tell jurors that his former assistant actually treated his girlfriend “disrespectfully.”
De Niro’s lawyer detailed how Robinson called Chen a “b****”, “w****” and “psychopath” – and secretly read De Niro and Chen’s private messages.
In one particular text message Chen sent to De Niro in January 2019, she wrote that Robinson believes “she is your wife.”
“Your possessive behavior over the house makes me very uncomfortable, right down to having the cable bill and the password to the security system.” [in] her name. It’s all very strange and she doesn’t let up on the weird shit either. “I feel like things are getting worse,” Chen wrote in court papers.
“She thinks she’s your wife and I’m tired of her constantly rearranging things and throwing my things on the floor when she decides to be the ‘lady of the house.’ This is very bizarre and really needs to stop,” Chen said in writing.
The trial, which includes both De Niro’s original lawsuit and Robinson’s countersuit, is expected to last two weeks
De Niro’s lawyer, Richard Schoenstein, said Robinson was treated very well by De Niro but “always thought she deserved better.”
He described De Niro as “kind, sensible, generous” and told jurors they would know that when they heard testimony from other employees of De Niro’s company, Canal Productions, which Robinson countered.
Schoenstein described Robinson as “condescending, demeaning, controlling, abusive” and said, “She always played the victim.”
In Robinson’s lawsuit, she accuses De Niro of forcing her to take on the role of his “office wife.”
After De Niro filed a lawsuit against her in August 2019, she accused him of assigning her “stereotypically feminine tasks that were inconsistent with her job title.”
Robinson claimed the actor made her put away his boxer shorts, wash his sheets and set his table.
The lawsuit also alleges that “De Niro would instruct Ms. Robinson to scratch his back, button his shirts, and nudge him awake when he was in bed.”
Additionally, the filing states, “De Niro also stood by while his friend slapped Ms. Robinson on the bottom.”
The former production company employee says that De Niro also “urinated during phone calls” and greeted her only in “pajamas or a bathrobe.”
De Niro’s legal team claims Robinson misused the Amex company to treat himself to lavish vacations, hang bags, buy dinner and buy gadgets
Graham Chase Robinson worked for De Niro from 2008 to 2019, when she says she was forced to resign. De Niro’s production company then filed a lawsuit against her
The civil trial is expected to last two weeks. Robinson’s legal team will reportedly initiate more than a dozen voicemails and a series of text messages between De Niro and Robinson, as well as between De Niro and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen.
In a 51-second voicemail recording Robinson once received, the Hollywood legend threatens her with a profanity-filled expletive.
“You don’t fucking answer my calls.” How dare you? You’re about to be fired. You are writing history. These are cops***. How dare you disrespect me the fuck? You’ve got to be kidding me, you spoiled brat! F*** you!
Brent Hannafan, one of the lawyers who represented the scorned assistant, said before the trial: “Ms. Robinson is ready to tell her story to the jury.”
“He would insult her. “He would make her life difficult,” Hannafan said, telling the jury that De Niro was “a really demanding boss.”
“He repeatedly shouted the devil in Chase’s face,” noting that De Niro also made her perform demeaning and physically offensive tasks.
“He asked her to literally scratch her back,” the lawyer explained.
“He joked with Ms. Robinson about his Viagra prescription.” “De Niro grinned to Ms. Robinson about his young mistress, who was about Ms. Robinson’s age,” her suit said.
“Their claims of discrimination and retaliation are compelling and the evidence to support them is clear.” “We believe that after hearing all of the testimony, the jury will agree with our opinion that De Niro discriminated against and retaliated against Ms. Robinson.”
De Niro will arrive at the federal courthouse on Monday
De Niro leaves federal court on October 30, 2023 in New York City
De Niro leaves federal court on Monday
De Niro’s legal team suspected Robinson “always played the victim” and was a money-hungry former employee.
“It’s nice to work for a movie star, but it can be mundane,” Schoenstein explained.
Robinson claims that she began working for the actor and businessman’s company in 2008 – at age 25 – as an executive assistant and eventually rose to vice president of production and finance before being “forced to resign” in 2019.
De Niro claimed Robinson suddenly left her position – for which she was compensated $300,000 a year – when “suspicions” arose about her “honesty, integrity, work ethic and motivation.”
His legal team claims Robinson misused the Amex company to treat himself to lavish vacations, handbags, dinners and gadgets.
The lawsuit also accuses the entertainment manager of “loafness.”[ing] during work hours,” “amazing hours of watching TV shows on Netflix,” and “millions of De Niro’s frequent flyer miles stolen.”