Six bombshells from Robert De Niro's lawsuit - from Viagra to 'misplaced facts'
Robert De Niro is being sued by his former executive assistant for $12m (£9.9m) for "causing severe emotional distress and reputational harm" - alongside claims of bizarre requests from the actor.
Graham Chase Robinson filed a lawsuit over gender discrimination in 2019. Robinson claims that during her employment with the Oscar winner, she was called abusive names and shouted at, as well as a host of bizarre and unusual requests made by De Niro. Robinson claims that he would call her while he was on the toilet and ask that she scratch his back, as opposed to using a device to carry out the task.
READ MORE: Robert De Niro's demands from back scratching to Uber martinis and toilet phone calls
De Niro rebuked the claim, telling the court it may have happened occasionally, but "never with disrespect or lewdness". He then looked towards his former employee and shouted: "Shame on you, Chase Robinson," before quietly apologising.
Here's a look at the five bombshells dropped from both parties during the court hearing.
Owners of £2m luxury flats overlooked by Tate Modern win court privacy battle
De Niro asked accuser to present her 'Netflix view history'
In a letter submitted by De Niro's lawyer, Robinson was asked to present her Netflix viewing history after the actor accused her of "loafing during work hours, binge-watching astounding hours of TV shows on Netflix." When asked to present the viewing history, Robinson objected admitting “that is not in dispute in any litigation.”
De Niro is being sued (Getty Images)She also unapologetically admitted that she sees nothing wrong with collecting a $300,000 annual salary to watch sitcoms instead of working. De Niro is seeking the return of three years' salary.
He accused his former assistant of spreading 'misplaced facts'
De Niro has accused his former assistant of "feeding the media misplaced facts" in a letter submitted by his lawyer. It reads: "Ms. Robinson also feeds the media with facts and evidence that are misplaced.
"Her take on what occurred in a District Attorney’s investigation is both irresponsible and improper. The exercise of prosecutorial discretion is hardly a verdict that civil wrongs were not committed."
Robinson's lawyer previously told De Niro he called Ms Robinson a "b**** to her face," to which he responded: "I was never abusive, ever," though he admitted he may have used the word during conversations.
Graham is suing De Niro for $12m (Getty Images)Judge warned Ms Robinson to 're-evaluate pay discrimination claim'
At the precipice of the #MeToo movement, Robinson' lawsuit was filed and accused De Niro of gender discrimination and retaliation. She claims he oversaw a "toxic workplace" in which he underpaid Robinson, subjected her to "vulgar comments", and assigned her "domestic duties" like buttoning his shirt and washing his sheets despite her lofty executive title.
“Robert De Niro is someone who has clung to old mores,” stated the complaint. In response, the judge warned Robinson to "evaluate that claim" as "the Supreme Court has rejected comparable worth."
De Niro’s 'hostile, abusive, and intimidating manner'
Robinson's plaintiff complaint claims the Oscar winner used a hostile, abusive and intimidating manner and reportedly used terms like "b***h" and "brat" when addressing Robinson. It also states: "De Niro would unleash tirades against Ms. Robinson – often while he was intoxicated – in which he denigrated, berated, bullied, and hurled expletives at her.
He was seen in court (AP)"In speaking to Ms. Robinson, he called his female business partner a 'c**t' and referred to his executive assistants as 'the girls.'" The plaintiff then claims that Robert allowed his wife and then his "paramour" to target Robinson. "I was never abusive, ever," De Niro responded, though he admitted he may have used the word during conversations.
Robinson's attorney violated judge’s ‘rule’
During early legal proceedings, Robinson's attorney broke a rule created by the judge that if someone spoke, they had to identify themselves before speaking to make transcription easier since they were on the phone - due to Covid. The attorney failed to do so which caused the judge to say “Okay. You just violated my rule. Who was that speaking?”
Inquiry launched into Omagh bombing 25 years after IRA atrocity which killed 29
The rule violation happened during an initial meeting in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
Robert's Viagra prescription and 'vulgar comments'
Robert De Niro would joke about his Viagra prescription, the plaintiff's complaint reads and would make "vulgar, inappropriate, and gendered comments to Ms. Robinson. He would smirked to Ms. Robinson about his young paramour, who was around Ms. Robinson’s age."
She claims he'd make "vulgar" comments (Getty Images)"De Niro reportedly directed Ms. Robinson to imagine him on the toilet," and Andrew Macurdy, one of Robinson's lawyers, asked whether it was true he sometimes urinated as he spoke to his former employee on the phone. Robert answered: "That's nonsense. You got us all here for this?"
Robert allegedly told Ms. Robinson that doing manual labour would make a man out of you' and suggested that she could get pregnant using sperm from her (married) male co-worker."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
