Current:Home > FinanceRobert De Niro tells jury that emotional abuse claims by ex-assistant are "nonsense"-LoTradeCoin
Robert De Niro tells jury that emotional abuse claims by ex-assistant are "nonsense"
View Date:2024-12-23 20:06:18
Robert De Niro testified Monday in New York City at a trial resulting from a former personal assistant's lawsuit accusing the actor of being an abusive boss. De Niro, who at times appeared grouchy, restrained himself from erupting at the dissection of his interactions with her before finally blurting out: "This is all nonsense!"
The two-time Oscar-winning actor known for his performances in blockbuster movies like "The Deer Hunter" and "Raging Bull" was the first witness in a trial resulting from lawsuits over the employment of Graham Chase Robinson. Robinson, who worked for De Niro between 2008 and 2019, was paid $300,000 annually before she quit as his vice president of production and finance.
The woman, tasked for years with everything from decorating De Niro's Christmas tree to taking him to the hospital when he fell down stairs, has sued him for $12 million in damages for severe emotional distress and reputational harm. Robinson said he refused to give her a reference to find another job when she quit in 2019 after repeated clashes with his girlfriend.
A profanity-laced voicemail from De Niro emerged in 2019 along with the accusations of discrimination and harassment, CBS New York reported.
"You're living in Spain and you're [expletive] upset with me. You tell me how nice you have it and your life over there and you [expletive] don't answer my calls. How dare you. You're about to be fired. You're [expletive] history," the voicemail says.
De Niro, 80, testified through most of the afternoon, agreeing that he had listed Robinson as his emergency contact at one point and had relied on her to help with greeting cards for his children.
But when a lawyer for Robinson asked him if he considered her a conscientious employee, he scoffed.
"Not after everything I'm going through now," he said.
De Niro twice raised his voice almost to a shout during his testimony. Once, it occurred as he defended the interactions his girlfriend had with Robinson, saying, "We make decisions together."
The second time occurred when Robinson's lawyer tried to suggest that De Niro bothered his client early in the morning to take him to the hospital in 2017.
"That was one time when I cracked my back falling down the stairs!" De Niro angrily snapped. Even in that instance, he added, he delayed calling Robinson, making it to his bed after the accident at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., but then later summoning her at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.
Repeatedly, Judge Lewis J. Liman explained the rules of testimony to De Niro and that there were limits to what he could say.
"Can I ask a question?" De Niro asked in one exchange with Robinson's lawyer. The request was denied.
He insisted that he treated Robinson well even after he bought a five-bedroom Manhattan townhouse and let Robinson oversee some of the preparations so he could move there with his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen.
"It is not like I'm asking for her to go out there and scrape floors and mop the floor," he said. "So this is all nonsense!"
Correspondence between De Niro and Chen that was shown to jurors demonstrated that Chen became increasingly suspicious of Robinson's motives, saying she thought Robinson acted like she was De Niro's wife and believed that she had "imaginary intimacy" with De Niro.
"She felt there was something there and she may have been right," De Niro said in defense of his girlfriend's suspicions.
In opening statements that preceded De Niro's testimony, attorney Andrew Macurdy said Robinson has been unable to get a job and has been afraid to leave her home since leaving the job with De Niro.
He said De Niro would sometimes yell at her and call her nasty names in behavior consistent with sexist remarks he made about women generally.
Macurdy said the trouble between them arose when Chen became jealous that De Niro relied on Robinson for so many tasks and that they communicated so well.
He said his client never had a romantic interest in De Niro.
"None," he said. "There was never anything romantic between the two of them."
De Niro's attorney, Richard Schoenstein, said Robinson was treated very well by De Niro "but always thought she deserved more."
He described De Niro as "kind, reasonable, generous" and told jurors they would realize that when they hear the testimony of others employed by De Niro's company, Canal Productions, which has countersued Robinson.
Schoenstein described Robinson as "condescending, demeaning, controlling, abusive" and said "she always played the victim."
In 2019, CBS New York spoke with Alexandra Harwin, the attorney for Robinson.
"She attempted to endure the work environment as long as possible, but she did attempt to quit multiple times. And Mr. De Niro responded by promising things would get better and threatening her if she left," Harwin said.
The 19-page lawsuit also states that De Niro made jokes about his Viagra prescription and asked her to do supposedly stereotypical female duties, such as cleaning his apartment and mending his clothes.
- In:
- Robert de Niro
- New York
veryGood! (337)
Related
- Amazon Black Friday 2024 sales event will start Nov. 21: See some of the deals
- Ken Squier, a longtime NASCAR announcer and broadcaster, dies at 88
- Adriana Lima Has the Ultimate Clapback to Critical Comments About Her Appearance
- Iranian foreign minister denies Iran's involvement in Red Sea drone attack
- Inter Miami's MLS playoff failure sets stage for Messi's last act, Alexi Lalas says
- Trial of ex-officer Brett Hankison in Breonna Taylor death ends with hung jury: What's next
- Poverty is killing the Amazon rainforest. Treating soil and farmers better can help save what’s left
- North Carolina lottery expands online game offerings through ‘digital instants’
- Krispy Kreme is giving free dozens to early customers on World Kindness Day
- Inmate who escaped Georgia jail and woman who allegedly helped him face federal charges
Ranking
- ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ review: Darren Criss shines in one of the best musicals in years
- Buying a Rivian R1T electric pickup truck was a miserable experience.
- Hungary qualifies for Euro 2024 with own-goal in stoppage time in match marred by violence
- 'The Crown' shines in its final season — just remember it's not the History Channel
- Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
- How Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler tell 'Hunger Games' origin tale without Katniss Everdeen
- Wisconsin’s annual gun deer season set to open this weekend
- TGL dome slated for new Tiger Woods golf league loses power, collapses
Recommendation
-
Timothée Chalamet Details How He Transformed Into Bob Dylan for Movie
-
New details emerge from autopsy of man ‘ran over’ by police SUV, buried in pauper's grave
-
Soldier, her spouse and their 2 children found dead at Fort Stewart in Georgia
-
PG&E bills will go up by more than $32 per month next year in part to pay for wildfire protections
-
'SNL' stars jokingly declare support for Trump, Dana Carvey plays Elon Musk
-
Horoscopes Today, November 16, 2023
-
Hunter Biden files motion to subpoena Trump, Bill Barr, other Justice Dept officials
-
Canadian man convicted of murder for killing 4 Muslim family members with his pickup