Robert De Niro took the stand in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday and vehemently denied allegations of gender discrimination made by his former assistant.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told the Daily Caller that Graham Chase Robinson, the former vice president of production and finance for Robert De Niro’s production company Canal Productions, claims she was discriminated against by De Niro. De Niro reportedly took the stand and passionately shouted, “This is all nonsense!” and denied all allegations made against him in court.
Robert De Niro testified Monday on day one of the trial in the gender discrimination case against him.https://t.co/C3a6egFSGN
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) October 31, 2023
Robinson began as De Niro’s lead assistant in February 2008 and went on to become Canal’s VP of production and finance. She alleges her role was reduced after she came forward with her allegations and claimed this led to her resignation in April 2019, according to a source who spoke to the Daily Caller.
Brent Hannafan, partner and Co-Chair of the Trial Practice Group at Sanford Heisler Sharp, outlined Robinson’s claims against De Niro and Canal, which arose from her 11 years of employment with De Niro.
The claims include gender discrimination and violation of New York City Human Rights Law, the source told the Daily Caller.
De Niro rambled on the stand, and was visibly irritated by the position he was in, according to the New York Post (NYP).
He denied allegations of forced, unwanted physical contact and warded off Robinson’s claims he made lewd and sexually suggestive jokes about his use of Viagra, the NYP reported.
Robert De Niro angrily DENIES threatening his ex-assistant https://t.co/df4iEljGM6 pic.twitter.com/SpmclGuxmb
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 31, 2023
The tension between the famous actor and Robinson began in August 2019 when De Niro’s company, Canal Productions, sued Robinson for allegedly misusing her time on the job. She was accused of binge-watching “Friends” and Netflix and allegedly stole millions of De Niro’s frequent flyer miles, according to NYP.
Robinson, in turn, fired back with a $12 million law suit just two months later, at which point she accused De Niro of subjecting her to sexual harassment and bullying. She said he demanded she work 24/7, according to NYP.
Hannafan told the jury De Niro “was a really demanding boss,” per NYP.
“He would berate her. He would make her life difficult,” he said, according to NYP. “He called Chase a bitch to her face repeatedly.” (RELATED: REPORT: Female Intruder Attempts To Steal Robert DeNiro’s Christmas Gifts)
Hannafan accused De Niro of demanding Robinson do questionable things in front of him.
“He asked her to literally scratch [his] back,” he said. Robinson suggested he use a back scratcher, but De Niro reportedly said “I like the way you do it,” NYP noted.
De Niro, who became a dad again earlier in 2023, is expected to be cross-examined Tuesday.