A Manhattan jury has dominated that Robert De Niro’s firm, Canal Productions, should pay $1.2 million to his former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson, for gender discrimination and retaliation.
The verdict got here after a two-week trial that featured explosive testimony from the 80-year-old actor, who denied being an abusive and sexist boss to Robinson.
De Niro, who didn’t attend the courtroom on Thursday, testified late final month that Robinson’s allegations had been “all nonsense”. He admitted that he as soon as referred to as her a “f**king spoiled brat” for not waking him up for an necessary assembly, however insisted that he was by no means disrespectful or sexually inappropriate.
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‘The Godfather’ star additionally acknowledged that he requested her to scratch his again a few occasions, however angrily dismissed it as “nonsense” that there was something sexual about it.
“OK, twice? You got me! I’m saying this is nonsense,” he fumed on the stand.
“It was never done with any disrespect.”
Robinson, who labored for De Niro for 11 years till April 2019, claimed that De Niro handled her like a “servant” and assigned her duties that had been beneath her title because the VP of Production and Finance. She stated she needed to do stereotypically feminine chores like cleansing his sheets, and that he underpaid her as a result of she was a girl. She additionally accused him of subjecting her to sexually abusive habits, reminiscent of speaking to her on the telephone whereas he urinated.
“I am the VP of Production and Finance and I am ordering vacuum cleaners,” Robinson stated sarcastically throughout her testimony on Nov. 7.
Robinson additionally alleged that she was harassed by De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, who she referred to as a “sociopath” who conspired to have her fired and spoil her status.
The jury discovered that Canal Productions was chargeable for each gender discrimination and retaliation, and awarded Robinson $632,142 in damages for every declare. Robinson hugged her attorneys when she heard the decision, and was seen smiling as she left the courthouse.
“She feels vindicated,” her lawyer, Brent Hannafan, stated.
“The jury saw what Ms. Robinson saw and completely vindicated her.”
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The authorized battle between De Niro and Robinson began when Canal sued Robinson in August 2019, accusing her of stealing thousands and thousands of Delta SkyMiles, spending 1000’s on Ubers and dinners, and watching “Friends” on Netflix whereas she was imagined to be working.
Robinson was cleared of all these fees by the jury.
De Niro’s lawyer, Richard Schoenstein, stated he was happy that the jury didn’t discover De Niro personally liable, however he was shocked by the quantity of damages awarded to Robinson. He stated he would possibly file a movement to scale back the damages.
“It struck me as a compromise verdict,” he stated.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
