Robert De Niro's ex-assistant called 'disgusting little beast', court hears

07 November 2023 , 11:47

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Robert De Niro is being sued by his former assistant (Image: getty)

Robert De Niro's former assistant has been called a "disgusting little beast" in a text message her lawyer alleges, claiming it was sent by one of the actor's children.

The 80-year-old is being sued by Graham Chase Robinson for $12million (£9.9million) in damages for "causing severe emotional distress and reputational harm" which she claims was caused during her time working for De Niro. Attorney Andrew Macurdy read out the message to Manhattan Federal Court on Monday morning before jurors were brought in.

He said: "The message read, 'You disgusting little beast. You have nothing better to do with your pathetic life than destroy an 80-year-old man's life. Hopefully you and your family will suffer as you have made others suffer."

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Graham Chase Robinson was sent a vile text message (Getty Images)

In the text, 41-year-old Robinson was also allegedly labelled a "scumbag". Macurdy said the message was sent to Robinson shortly before she was due to take to the stand again this week. The attorney also said it had been sent by an unknown number.

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However, he said Robinson's iPhone has a feature which shows a possible identity for anonymous senders. The suggested name was one of De Niro's children, although they were not named in court.

De Niro's lawyer Richard Schoenstein insisted his team had "no idea" who had sent the text message. According to the Daily Mail, he added: "Certainly we will instruct our clients not to contact the plaintiff."

Robert De Niro is being sued for $12million (Getty Images)

Judge Lewis J Limon decided not to take any further action. He said the court had also received evidence of emails which were "derogatory about Mr De Niro." He added: "Unfortunately this case has attracted a lot of attention."

Robinson is seeking $12 million in damages for emotional distress and reputational harm that she claims has left her jobless and unable to recover from the trauma of working for De Niro. Robinson was reportedly making $300,000 per year when she quit, frustrated by her interactions with De Niro's girlfriend Tiffany Chen and the effect she claims the girlfriend was having on the actor.

The jury is also considering evidence pertaining to a lawsuit De Niro filed against Robinson in which he claimed that she stole things from him, including charging personal meals and groceries to the company’s credit card and inappropriately used “her employer’s fund for her personal gain” including the actor’s frequent flyer airline miles. De Niro is also seeking the return of three years of Robinson's salary.

Scarlett O'Toole