Robert De Niro’s ex-assistant wins $1.2M after explosive boss-from-hell, bullying NYC court battle
Robert De Niro’s company was ordered to shell out $1.2 million to his former assistant by a Manhattan jury that found the firm liable for gender discrimination and retaliation Thursday — bringing to a close a sensational legal battle in which the actor was accused of being an abusive boss who subjected his underling to sexist behavior.
Jurors in Manhattan federal court came to a decision following about five hours of deliberations Thursday and a two-week trial that saw the 80-year-old Oscar winner give bombshell testimony as he tried to bat back Graham Chase Robinson’s claims that he was a boss from hell.
While De Niro himself was not found personally liable, jurors said his company, Canal Productions, should pay Robinson, 41, his former longtime right-hand woman, $632,142 in damages for each of the claims.
“They got it right as to Mr. De Niro, that’s for sure,” De Niro’s attorney, Richard Schoenstein, said after the verdict was read.
The “Killers of the Flower Moon” star was not in court, but did take the stand late last month, snapping, “This is all nonsense!”
Robinson, who also testified — telling jurors De Niro relegated her to stereotypically female duties like cleaning his sheets — hugged her attorneys when she heard the verdict, and was later pictured leaving the courthouse with a wide smile on her face.
The long-running legal spat kicked off when Canal sued Robinson in August 2019, accusing the once-trusted employee of stealing millions of Delta SkyMiles, spending thousands on Ubers and dinners out and being a layabout who binge-watched “Friends” while she was supposed to be working.
Robinson, who worked for De Niro for 11 years until April 2019, fired back with her own $12 million suit, alleging De Niro never gave her a moment off, assigned her tasks that were beneath her title, underpaid her because she was a woman and subjected her to creepy behavior like scratching his back or talking to her on the phone while he urinated.
“I am the VP of production and finance and I am ordering vacuum cleaners,” Robinson scoffed during her own testimony at trial Nov. 7.
Robinson also claimed she was bullied incessantly by De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, whom she called a “sociopath” who conspired to have her fired and smear her reputation.
She was cleared of all claims against her — which included accusations that she stole frequent flier miles from Canal and breached company loyalty and fiduciary duties.
“The jury saw what Ms. Robinson saw and completely vindicated her,” said her attorney, Brent Hannafan.
“We’re thrilled with the verdict. Ms. Robinson is thrilled with the verdict. She feels vindicated,” he added.
De Niro admitted on the stand that he called Robinson a “f–king spoiled brat” once when she failed to wake him up for an important appointment, but insisted he was never abusive.
He also admitted to asking her to scratch his back a time or two, but angrily called it “nonsense” that there was anything sexual about it.
“OK, twice? You got me! I’m saying this is nonsense,” he fumed during his testimony. “It was never done with any disrespect.”
De Niro was particularly incensed over the frequent flier miles he said Robinson stole — which amounted to about $60,000 worth.
He testified she had been granted the use of his miles, but that he expected her to follow an “honor system” and take amounts within reason.
Instead, De Niro’s attorney said she pilfered his miles and transferred millions into her name when she sensed her job was in jeopardy.
“She never moved a million miles at once. And then all of a sudden in early 2019, with all of this stuff going on … all of a sudden she sweeps 5 million miles into her account,” Schoenstein told jurors during his closing remarks Nov. 8.
Canal may file court papers aiming to reduce the damages awarded to Robinson, Schoenstein said, telling reporters, “It struck me as a compromise verdict.”
