A Refresher on Robert De Niro’s Wild Workplace-Misconduct Case
Robert De Niro and his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson are facing off in Manhattan federal court over dueling misconduct claims. Robinson claims that the Taxi Driver actor subjected her to “years of gender discrimination and harassment,” while his counterclaim alleges financial misconduct, including misuse of company frequent-flier miles. These dueling allegations of gender-based and financial wrongdoing are expected to be argued before jurors over a two-week period.
These trial proceedings could prove to be quite dishy. De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, gave birth to their baby in April 2023, and Robinson has contended that Chen had a role in her allegedly unjust treatment. Text messages between De Niro and Chen might be introduced at trial. A copy of an exchange between them suggests that Chen told De Niro that Robinson was romantically interested in him. Here’s a rundown of their legal dispute thus far.
What was Graham Robinson’s role at Robert De Niro’s company?
Robinson started working as De Niro’s executive assistant at his company, Canal Productions, in 2008 in hopes of having a prominent career in the entertainment industry. While Robinson was promoted to director of production in 2011 and vice-president of production and finance in 2017, she alleges her ascent came amid a backdrop of allegedly “abusive” behavior. The details of her allegations are very detailed.
“He attacked her in gender terms, calling her a ‘bitch’ and a ‘brat.’ In speaking to Ms. Robinson, he called his female business partner a ‘cunt’ and referred to his executive assistants as ‘the girls,’” Robinson’s October 2019 lawsuit alleges. “De Niro would unleash tirades against Ms. Robinson — often while he was intoxicated — in which he denigrated, berated, bullied, and hurled expletives at her.”
The suit also alleges that De Niro “would joke with Ms. Robinson about his Viagra prescription.” He allegedly told Robinson “to imagine him on the toilet” and suggested a male co-worker could be her sperm donor. Robinson also said in court papers that De Niro insisted on treating her like his “office wife,” assigning her traditionally female clerical duties despite her title. There were also claims of inappropriate behavior and touching.
“He urinated during telephone calls with her and met with her wearing only his pajamas or a bathrobe,” the suit charges. “De Niro initiated gratuitous physical contact with Ms. Robinson based on her gender. Among other things, De Niro would direct Ms. Robinson to scratch his back, button his shirts, fix his collars, tie his ties, and prod him awake when he was in bed. De Niro also stood idly by while his friend slapped Ms. Robinson on her buttocks.” Robinson alleges that she was underpaid and denied legally required overtime pay.
What are De Niro’s allegations against Robinson?
De Niro, on the other hand, insists that Robinson is the wrongful party. His allegations of misconduct against Robinson started in August 2019, when his company sued her, alleging financial misconduct. His company’s suit claimed that Robinson ran up “thousands of dollars in personal expenses” on his company’s American Express credit cards, converted “millions” of Canal’s frequent-flier miles for her own use, and improperly treated the production venture as a personal piggy bank for “luxury items.” This suit also claimed that she “loafed during working hours, binge-watching astounding hours of TV shows on Netflix.”
Canal’s suit said that Robinson’s role required De Niro “to place full faith, trust and confidence in her that she would carry out her duties and responsibilities in Canal’s best interests, mindfully overseeing the finances and other employees.” This suit claimed that she was “paid generously,” landing $175,000 in 2017 and $300,000 in 2019. De Niro’s company’s lawsuit alleged that starting in early 2019, “suspicions arose regarding Robinson’s honesty, integrity, work ethic and motivation.” She quit in 2019 and said worries about “withholding information, engaging in an act of corporate sabotage, stealing property and not being diligent, professional or helpful” were ridiculous.
How did Robinson respond to De Niro’s lawsuit?
In Robinson’s lawsuit, she claims that De Niro’s company’s August 2019 lawsuit was “retaliation” and a preemptive strike to prevent her from pursuing discrimination claims. Robinson says that she asked De Niro for a recommendation for her business school application in July 2019. De Niro, she claims, had lawyers present her with a “release of legal claims for her to sign,” the kind of agreement that would prevent her from taking action against him. Robinson claims to have told De Niro’s lawyers that she’d need an attorney. She alleges that De Niro’s lawyer-cum-fixer “went on the offensive” and accused her of misconduct in a July 11, 2019, letter.
On July 31, 2019, Robinson’s lawyer told De Niro’s team about possible legal claims against him, including sexual discrimination and stereotyping, as well as retaliation.
“She made clear that she was willing to pursue these claims through litigation,” court papers state. “Ms. Robinson emphasized through counsel that Defendants’ accusations of wrongdoing were baseless and designed to inhibit her from pursuing her claims.”
About two weeks after Robinson made it clear she’d be willing to sue, De Niro “further retaliated against Ms. Robinson for engaging in protected activity” by his company’s filing a $6 million suit against her. “The retaliatory lawsuit was designed to inhibit Ms. Robinson from pursuing her claims and to destroy her reputation. None of the allegations that Canal made against Ms. Robinson had been raised with her prior to her resignation,” she claims.
What is De Niro’s counterclaim all about?
De Niro has denied allegations of misconduct. In a court filing where De Niro sets out all of his denials, there is also a host of counterclaims against Robinson. To bolster his argument that Robinson’s pay wasn’t impacted by her gender, he claimed “for the two (2) years prior to her resignation, Ms. Robinson was the most highly compensated Canal employee, except for Mr. De Niro’s personal trainer.” This counterclaim, filed by Canal, reads similar to its original 2019 lawsuit because the latter case was discontinued. Canal is now pursuing those allegations against Robinson in this federal counterclaim.
What about De Niro’s texts with Chen?
One of Robinson’s allegations is that De Niro’s partner, Tiffany Chen, mistreated her, as well as his ex-wife, Grace Hightower. “De Niro permitted his wife and then his paramour to target Ms. Robinson based on her gender and created a hostile work environment for her, including disparaging her and assigning her demeaning job duties based on her gender,” Robinson’s lawsuit claims of Chen. A July 2019 text exchange, where De Niro and Chen discuss Robinson’s mention of legal action against him, sure isn’t pretty. “Who the fuck does she thing she is?!?!” De Niro said in one text, apparently reiterating what he said to a confidant about the situation.
Chen allegedly responded, “She thought she was your wife. I saw it from the beginning. I told you.” “The balls, the nerve, the chutzpah, the sense of entitlement, how dare her!” De Niro allegedly said in a text. Chen appeared confident that De Niro’s lawyer would take care of things, saying he “will get her.”
This story has been updated.
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