(New York) A jury ruled Thursday that Robert De Niro’s company should pay more than $1.2 million to the actor’s former personal assistant after finding the production company engaged in discrimination sexual and retaliation.
Although jurors found the actor was not personally responsible for the abuse, they said his company Canal Productions should make two payments of $632,142 to his longtime personal assistant, Graham Chase Robinson, who claimed 12 million initially.
Mme Robinson, 41, argued at trial that De Niro, 80, and his partner, Tiffany Chen, ganged up on her to turn a job she once loved into an ordeal.
Mr. De Niro and Mr.me Chen argued at trial that it was Mme Robinson who had become the problem, when she began to demand more and more from her employer to stay on the job.
The actor, who testified for two days, told jurors that M’s annual salaryme Robinson had gone from less than $100,000 to $300,000. He also maintained that at her request, he had named her vice-president of production and finance, even though her responsibilities remained essentially the same within the production house.
When she quit, the actor said, Mme Robinson stole approximately $85,000 in travel points from her and she betrayed his trust.
De Niro acknowledged many of Ms.’s assertions on the stand.me Robinson. He admitted he might have told her that her personal trainer was paid more than her in part because he had a family to support.
On the other hand, he denied having shouted at her, saying that everything she tried to corner him with was absurd and that, at most, he had raised his voice in her presence, but never with disrespect. “I was never violent, ever,” he said.
Mme Robinson said she has suffered from anxiety and depression since quitting and has not worked in four years, despite reportedly applying for 638 jobs.
De Niro’s lawyers had filed a lawsuit against Mr.me Robinson for breach of her loyalty and fiduciary duties, even before she filed her lawsuit in 2019. They were seeking 6 million in damages, including reimbursement of 5 million travel points. In his closing argument Wednesday, De Niro’s attorney, Richard Schoenstein, said the miles driven were worth about $85,000.