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Robert De Niro’s former assistant has won a staggering $1.2 million after winning her sexism and retaliation lawsuit against the actor’s production company.
Graham Chase Robinson, 41, was awarded two identical damages of $632,142.96 for sex discrimination and retaliation after De Niro’s Canal Pictures was found liable Thursday night.
Robinson’s victory is significant, but it falls far short of the $12 million in damages she initially sought. De Niro sued her for $6 million for the airline miles she flew, but Robinson was not found liable for the allegations.
The verdict came after four hours of deliberations by a jury of four women and three men in Manhattan Federal Court. An eighth juror called in sick Thursday morning.
Chase Robinson worked for Canal, but was essentially De Niro’s fixer between 2008 and 2019 and earned a salary of $300,000 at the time of his resignation.
His former boss has not been found personally responsible for the allegations of sex discrimination or retaliation, although Robinson’s allegations all center around his bad behavior.
She said he repeatedly called her a “bitch” and asked for back scratches, behavior she described as “scary” through sobs on the witness stand.
Jurors did not explain why Canal was found responsible but De Niro was not. Canal will likely also have to pay Chase Robinson’s hefty legal fees.
Graham Chase Robinson is pictured in court Tuesday, ahead of the conclusion of his $12 million lawsuit against former employer Robert De Niro.
Robinson was in court for Thursday’s verdict, but De Niro was not. He was seen at the courthouse Wednesday evening during closing arguments and testified on October 31.
The Taxi Driver star, 80, was accused of being an abusive boss during the explosive trial by eight jurors in Manhattan Federal Court.
Jurors were sent out shortly before noon local time Thursday after listening to a week and a half of evidence in the $12 million case brought by Robinson, 41.
De Niro denied Robinson’s claims and countersued her for $6 million, alleging she stole five million airline miles from him.
The iconic actor denied getting angry with Robinson – but that’s exactly what he did in court, shouting “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!” last week, before apologizing.
The most jaw-dropping claims saw Robinson brand his former boss making “creepy” and “disgusting” demands for backscratches.
Sobbing as she spoke Nov. 3, Robinson said, “I mentioned there was a back scratcher he could use instead. “He said, ‘I prefer the way you do it.’
“It was scary, just disgusting.”
The actor insisted that there was nothing untoward or sexist about the matter and that his demands did not constitute gender discrimination.
Robinson also claimed that De Niro called her a “bitch” two or three times during her 11 years working for him.
She said he accused her of acting “like a little bitch” after a fire broke out in her New York home.
Robinson said the insult was deployed again in December 2017, when De Niro lashed out after being unable to find Christmas presents at his home.
Robert De Niro in Manhattan Federal Court Wednesday evening, as closing arguments in Graham Chase Robinson’s lawsuit against him moved toward a conclusion.
“He was swearing left and right. I was trying to fix the problem but he just said I was a bitch.
Robinson was employed by De Niro’s Canal Pictures and began working there in 2008 as an executive assistant with a salary of $75,000.
At the time of her resignation in April 2019, she had been promoted to vice president of production and finance and was paid $300,000 per year.
Robinson was effectively De Niro’s fixer and says she had to be available 24/7/365 to help him with his children, family and medical care.
She also clashed with De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, after she claimed Chen “humiliated” her by forcing her to order vacuum cleaners and host director Martin Scorsese’s birthday party.
Chen accused Robinson of excessive spending and called the former employee “obsessive, psychotic and dangerous” while on the stand last week.
Robinson said De Niro held male and female employees to different standards.
A court sketch shows Robert De Niro testifying on October 31. He got angry with Chase Robinson in court
“Employees had to be available 24/7 for Bob. “He didn’t expect male employees to be on call for him,” she said, adding that the Oscar winner called his female assistants “girls.”
She said: “Male employees couldn’t be available and Bob wouldn’t mind. »
Robinson says she asked to receive the same salary as her colleague Dan Harvey, the actor’s personal trainer and who has worked with him since 1985.
But she says De Niro gave a lame excuse for refusing: “Chase, you don’t have kids. Dan has a family to support.
“It made me so sad. It frustrated me, it made me angry…I was really hurt by that comment,” she told the court. “I gave my life to this work. I didn’t had children because I worked.
His salary was later increased from $200,000 to $300,000, with Harvey earning $290,000.
De Niro’s defense attorney, Richard Schoenstein, cross-examined Robinson on the stand and asked him: “You thought you should be paid the same as someone who has worked with Mr. De Niro for Are you in preschool?”
On Wednesday, the court also heard from Harvey, 63, De Niro’s longtime personal trainer, who also had a relationship with the actor before filming for the past 40 years.
Harvey said he had been a full-time trainer for De Niro since 1985, spending two to seven hours with the actor for about 330 days a year and traveling with him to filming locations in worldwide.
De Niro is pictured with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen in June. Robinson and Chen clashed, with Chen expressing concerns about Robinson’s spending
Robinson held a tissue to her face and appeared emotional Tuesday as she told the court she feared no one would believe her word over De Niro’s.
Her resignation email was shown to the jury and she told De Niro she had been “loyal, protective, honest and beyond hard working.”
“I have poured my heart and soul into this work and as a result other aspects of my life and other opportunities have been put on hold. You always came first,” she wrote.
It has been more than three years since she left Canal Productions and in her testimony she said she had applied for 638 jobs since then but had not landed a single interview.
She revealed that she suffered from depression, anxiety and insomnia and had to take medication to even leave the apartment she shares with her mother.
“I lost my life. I lost my career. I lost my financial independence. I lost everything,” said Robinson, who is now seeing a therapist.
On Tuesday, Robinson’s team psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Goldstein, diagnosed him with generalized anxiety disorder related to his employment at Canal.
The practicing psychiatrist said Robinson suffered from a “serious and often debilitating psychological condition” after evaluating her in January 2019 and reviewing more than three years of medical records.
He said she suffered from symptoms including insomnia and memory loss, and that she “felt a lot of psychological pain and emotional discomfort” that began while she was employed by De Niro.
When asked what the trigger for this mental state was, he responded, “His perceptions of discrimination and retaliation in his job.”
But a psychiatrist hired by De Niro’s lawyers described Robinson as “narcissistic and paranoid.”