An American popular jury ruled Thursday that Robert De Niro’s production company was responsible for sexual discrimination against a former colleague, and awarded him $1.3 million in damages.
Former employee Graham Chase Robinson accused ‘Taxi Driver’ star of ordering her to perform ‘stereotypically feminine’ tasks, even after she was promoted to management positions at his company Canal Productions: washing sheets, vacuuming your apartment or even organizing parties.
She also accused him of unwanted physical contact and of making sexual comments.
Jurors also found that Mr. De Niro’s company attempted to retaliate against his employee. She claimed that Mr. De Niro refused to write her letters of recommendation or pay her severance pay.
The jury rejected the initial complaint filed by Canal Productions against Ms. Chase Robinson.
Graham Chase Robinson, the former collaborator of American actor Robert De Niro, as he leaves the federal court in New York City on October 30, 2023.
Getty Images via AFP
The company accused him of charging hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses to a company credit card, using millions of Mr. De Niro’s miles for airline travel, and binge-watched “TV series on Netflix” during work time.
“We are delighted that the jury […] has rendered a verdict in favor of Ms. Chase Robinson,” responded her lawyer David Sanford, in a press release to AFP.
“Not only did Ms. Robinson win her case against Canal, but the jury completely agreed with Ms. Robinson by declaring that Robert De Niro’s complaints against her were unfounded,” he also rejoiced.
Mr. De Niro, who was not present for the verdict, was not found individually responsible.
At the start of the trial, which lasted two weeks, he considered that the accusations of his ex-assistant were “nonsense”.