Robert DeNiro describes former assistant’s claims as “nonsense” during court case
During a civil trial in New York City, Robert DeNiro has described the legal claims of his former assistant as “nonsense” while providing testimony.
Graham Chase Robinson, who previously worked for the Killers of the Flower Moon star, has accused DeNiro of gender discrimination. The trial is expected to last two weeks and lawsuits from both sides will be heard in court.
DeNiro took to the stand on October 30th. When he was probed on whether he asked Robinson to do “anything and everything”, which allegedly included being on call at all times. In response, he said: “She is working for me; she has to do what I’m asking.”
The actor continued: “It is not like I’m asking her to go out on the floor and scrape floors and go out and mop the floor. I didn’t do any of that and neither did [girlfriend Tiffany Chen], so this is all nonsense.”
According to DeNiro, she was instructed to carry out personal tasks such as sorting travel arrangements, scheduling and buying gifts on his behalf for people. However, Robinson claims she was also made to scratch his back, mend clothing and do the laundry. “It’s not like I’m telling her to go out and scrape floors, mop floors,” he told the court in response.
She became DeNiro’s assistant in 2008 and was later promoted to vice president of production and finance at his company Canal Productions. However, Robinson left the role in 2019, claiming she felt like an “office wife” and alleges he made “vulgar, inappropriate and gendered comments” towards her.
Robinson is suing Deniro for $12m in damages, claiming his actions caused severe emotional distress and reputational harm. Canal have also sued Robinson for $6m, alleging she transferred airline miles to her personal account and misused expenses.
This is a developing story.
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