Robert De Niro admitted in a Manhattan court that he ordered his former assistant to scratch his back and angrily declared, “You got me!”
The 80-year-old actor is accused of discriminating against his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson, 41, in a four-year legal battle that went to trial on Monday.
His former employee Robinson has accused the actor of gender discrimination while working for his company Canal Productions. De Niro’s company initially sued Robinson for improper spending on the company’s accounts.
On the second day of the trial Tuesday, De Niro became nervous and angry as he took the stand to counter allegations that he subjected Robinson to years of abusive language, unwanted physical advances and misogyny.
In a surprising moment on the witness stand, the Oscar-winning actor confronted his accuser, telling a stunned courtroom: “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”
Actor Robert De Niro, 80, leaves federal court on the second day of his trial on October 31, 2023 in New York City
The actor’s former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson (pictured leaving court on Monday), claims she was discriminated against by De Niro
The 80-year-old responded that Robinson had improperly spent money while working for him
Robinson began working for De Niro in 2008 as his assistant and eventually rose to vice president of Canal Productions. She reportedly had a salary of $300,000 when she resigned in April 2019.
She claims in her lawsuit that De Niro treated her like an “office lady” and forced her to perform menial tasks, including washing his sheets and scratching his back. Robinson also claims she was paid less than a male employee who had the same role and responsibilities.
Her $12 million lawsuit was filed quickly after De Niro’s Canal Productions filed an initial lawsuit in August 2019 accusing her of improper expenses, including transferring over $450,000 worth of airline miles from the company to your personal account.
She is also accused of spending tens of thousands more on personal items, food and travel, and spending her days watching Netflix.
Both lawsuits should be decided in the same trial.
On Tuesday, De Niro was questioned about his alleged mistreatment of Robinson, particularly an incident in which he allegedly instructed Robinson to scratch his back instead of using a back scratcher.
The star became visibly frustrated as he fended off questions until he confessed that the back scratching occurred on two occasions.
“Okay, twice? You got me! “I say this is nonsense,” he said on the witness stand. “It was never done with any disrespect.”
In a surprising moment, De Niro then confronted his former employee and shouted to the court: “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”
De Niro, seen in a court sketch, stunned the courtroom on Tuesday when he confronted his accuser, telling her: “Shame on you.”
De Niro took part in more than five hours of testimony on Tuesday in a four-year legal battle that finally ended in a Manhattan court on Monday
Robert De Niro’s girlfriend Tiffany Chen was photographed in New York earlier this year
De Niro took part in more than five hours of court testimony on Tuesday, which offered a more detailed look at the allegations against the 80-year-old.
In addition to admitting to the allegations, De Niro also admitted that he directed Robinson to use Uber to order him a martini at the Nobu Sushi Lounge late at night.
Robinson claimed he called her twice to interrupt her grandmother’s funeral so she could buy his teenage son a bus ticket. When asked about the incident, he replied: “So?”
De Niro also defended calling Robinson a “fucking spoiled brat” and said he was “upset” because she didn’t wake him up for an appointment.
“I could have done that, I was upset,” he said. “She didn’t wake me up and make me miss that thing in Malibu.”
The second day of the trial was marked by tense back-and-forths on both sides, but there was a moment when De Niro appeared to joke with his lawyer.
His lawyer objected to his client’s questioning, arguing it was an “improper impeachment,” to which De Niro replied, “Impeachment?” Am I going to be impeached?’
“Had to say it, sorry,” he added as the courtroom erupted in laughter.
De Niro is currently starring in Martin Scorsese’s latest hit Killers Of The Flower Moon, pictured with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio
When Robinson first filed the lawsuit four years ago, her lawyer argued Tuesday that she did so after she first tried to leave her job in November 2018 but was prevented from doing so by De Niro after he warned he would give her a bad reference.
Asked about the allegations, De Niro denied them and replied: “You’re saying I threatened her?” I’m not doing that. She worked for me, I treated her with respect.’
He then claimed that while he wasn’t allowed to call her “disloyal,” he “wanted her because she stole things from me.”
He continued: “The whole case is nonsense, it’s ridiculous… I wanted my things back, that’s all I’m asking for. “Give my things back, give my airline miles back. Enough is enough.
“She had taken things from me and didn’t do the right thing.” I asked her to give them back, but she didn’t do the right thing. She asked me for a letter of recommendation, which I would under no circumstances sign.’
Robinson’s attorney argued that Canal Productions only filed her lawsuit because the employee threatened legal action and the company wanted to “embarrass” her in public before she filed her own lawsuit.
“I don’t care about the press,” De Niro retorted in one of the most hostile exchanges of the day.
“It was important to me that she return my things and do the right thing,” he added. “I didn’t want to ruin it. I have no control over the press. She’s more press-oriented than I am. She should have thought, ‘I’m giving the airline miles back.’ Case closed, settled.’
He said he told Robinson that she had permission to deduct up to two million airline miles from the company’s account for emergencies, but assumed she would adhere to an “honor system” so as not to abuse that privilege.
De Niro said in his lawsuit that Robinson resigned in April 2019 after “suspicions” arose about his employees’ “honesty, integrity, work ethic and motivation.” He added on Tuesday that he was “relieved” when he finally received her resignation.