Robert De Niro jury despatched out to determine whether or not he is sexist bully

The jury within the trial between Robert De Niro and his former assistant has been despatched to deliberate over whether or not he’s liable to pay as much as $12million in damages over gender discrimination. 

Graham Chase Robinson, 41, filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Oscar-winning actor in October 2019 by which she claimed he made her do stereotypically feminine work, paid her lower than male colleagues and made ‘creepy’ requests for her to scratch his again.

She alleged he referred to as her a ‘b****’ two or thrice throughout her employment and steadily berated her – which she described as ‘hurtful’ and ‘demeaning’. 

De Niro, 80, has denied her claims and counter-sued her for $6million, saying she misused firm advantages by harvesting 5 million air miles for her private holidays simply earlier than she left.

Jurors at Manhattan Federal Court have heard bombshell particulars about her feud with the actor who testified within the trial, and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 64, in the course of the high-profile case which started on October 30.

Robinson started working for Canal in 2008, having began out as an government assistant on a $75,000 wage, earlier than rising to the function of vp of manufacturing and finance on a $300,000 wage on the time of her departure in April 2019.

She informed the courtroom her function on the firm concerned coping with private issues for De Niro together with gadgets together with his youngsters and household, coping with his youngsters’ colleges and helping him with medical care.

But mentioned the job was so intense that she had hassle sleeping and consuming because of the ‘24/7, 365 day’ function.

‘I haven’t had one good evening of sleep in god is aware of how lengthy, she mentioned.

‘I have had so much stress and anxiety that I don’t eat. I misplaced a number of weight.’

She broke down in tears whereas on the stand on November 3 as she recalled the ‘creepy’ and ‘disgusting’ second he ordered her to scratch his again. 

She claimed De Niro requested her to scratch his again thrice prior to now three years.

‘I discussed there was a again scratcher he might use as an alternative,’ she informed the courtroom.

‘He mentioned ‘I desire the way in which you do it’.’

‘It was creepy, simply disgusting,’ she added earlier than breaking down in tears.

Robinson additionally claimed she was referred to as a ‘b****’ by De Niro on a couple of event whereas she labored for him.

She mentioned the primary incident occurred when a hearth broke out at his New York City townhouse and she or he was listed as an emergency contact with the safety firm.

‘Bob [De Niro] was actually indignant and he began berating me and mentioned I used to be complaining and that he didn’t need to hear it.’ she mentioned. 

‘He hung up and referred to as again, berating me extra and mentioned I used to be ‘appearing like somewhat b****’ and hung up once more.’

She recalled one other incident in December 2017 by which Di Niro was allegedly livid as a result of he couldn’t discover some Christmas presents within the workplace.

‘He was screaming about not with the ability to discover a few of the presents within the workplace,’ Robinson mentioned.

‘He was cursing left and proper. I used to be making an attempt to type it however he simply mentioned I used to be being a b****.

De Niro misplaced his mood as he testified within the trial on October 31. In a startling second whereas on the stand, the Oscar-winning actor confronted Robinson and mentioned earlier than a shocked courtroom: ‘Shame on you, Chase Robinson! God da**it! I’m sorry.’

Robinson alleged her boss had completely different requirements for the women and men who labored for him.

‘Female employees were expected to be on call 24/7 for Bob. He didn’t count on male workers to be on name for him,’ she claimed, including that the Oscar-winner referred to his feminine assistants as ‘the girls’.

She mentioned: ‘Male employees could not be available and Bob wouldn’t thoughts.’

Robinson requested to obtain the identical wage as fellow worker Dan Harvey who’s the actor’s private coach and has labored with him since 1985.

But she alleged De Niro informed her: ‘Chase you don’t have youngsters. Dan has a household to help.’

‘It made me so sad. It frustrated me, it angered me … I was really hurt by that comment,’ she informed the courtroom. ‘I gave this job my life. I didn’t have youngsters as a result of I labored.’

But after a brief change they agreed she would see her wage leap from $200,000 to $300,000.

De Niro’s protection legal professional Richard Schoenstein cross-examined Robinson on the stand and requested her: ‘You thought try to be paid the identical as somebody who has been working with Mr De Niro because you have been in pre-school?’ 

On Wednesday, the courtroom additionally heard from De Niro’s longtime private coach Harvey, 63, who has additionally run strains with the actor forward of filming for the previous 40 years.

Under cross-examination from De Niro’s staff, Harvey confirmed he was on a wage of $290,000 on the time Robinson left together with her wage of $300,000.

Harvey mentioned he has been a full-time coach for De Niro since 1985, that he spent two to seven hours with the actor for round 330 days a 12 months and needed to journey with him to movie areas world wide.

Robinson held a tissue to her face and appeared emotional on Tuesday as she informed the courtroom she was anxious nobody would imagine her phrase in opposition to De Niro’s. 

Her resignation electronic mail was proven to the jury and she or he informed De Niro that she had been ‘loyal, protective, honest and beyond hard-working.’

‘I poured my heart and soul into this job and as a result other parts of my life and opportunities were put on hold. You always came first,’ she wrote.

It has been over three years since she left Canal Productions and in her testimony, she mentioned she has utilized to 638 jobs since however has not landed a single interview. 

She revealed she suffers from despair, nervousness and insomnia and has to take remedy to even depart the condominium she shares together with her mom.

‘I’ve misplaced my life. I‘ve lost my career. I’ve misplaced my monetary independence. I’ve misplaced the whole lot,’ Robinson, who now sees a therapist, mentioned.

On Tuesday, Robinson’s staff’s psychiatrist Dr Robert Goldstein recognized her with generalized nervousness dysfunction linked to her employment at Canal.

The training psychiatrist mentioned Robinson suffered from the ‘serious and often disabling psychological condition’ after evaluating her in January 2019, and reviewing greater than three years price of medical information.

He mentioned she suffered with signs like insomnia and reminiscence loss, and ‘experienced a good deal of psychological pain and emotional discomfort’ which started whereas she was employed by De Niro.

When requested what the set off for this psychological situation was, he mentioned: ‘Her perceptions of being discriminated against and retaliated against on her job.’

But a psychiatrist employed by De Niro’s attorneys described Robinson as ‘narcissistic and paranoid’. 

Dr Kimberly Resnick informed jurors that she suffers from an ‘inflated sense of vanity’ and ‘sees hurt the place there is not’ – and that these traits skew her ‘notion of the world’.

Dr Resnick, who serves as chief of forensic psychiatry at Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in New York, mentioned she spent seven hours talking with Robinson over Zoom and analyzed her medical information.

Under cross-examination by De Niro’s legal professionals, Dr Resnick mentioned she ‘recognized there to be traits of narcissism, paranoia and grandiosity’ in Robinson’s persona – although she stopped in need of saying she would diagnose her with any associated issues.

De Niro’s girlfriend Chen slammed the actor’s former assistant as ‘psychotic’ in a fiery testimony on November 2.

She took the stand to berate De Niro’s former staffer Graham Chase Robinson, who she claimed had an ‘imaginary intimacy’ with the Oscar winner.

Chen admitted she pressured De Niro to fireplace Robinson after their relationship soured over points together with catering on his personal jet and renovations at their Manhattan townhouse.

Her testimony got here after a lot of hostile electronic mail and textual content exchanges between Chen, Robinson and De Niro have been proven to the jury days earlier than, together with a 2am electronic mail from Chen to the actor saying: ‘If you retain her (Robinson) you and I’ll have issues’.

Chen’s hostility to Robinson was on full present in her testimony, which noticed her evaluate the previous assistant to the lead character of 1992 hit ‘Single White Female’.

This included Chen agreeing with an outline of Robinson as ‘obsessive, psychotic and harmful.’

Chen additionally appeared upset at having her intimate private textual content exchanges revealed to the courtroom.

Further texts from Chen appeared to notice this disagreement, the place she informed the Oscar winner: ‘If you retain her you and I’ll ultimately have issues as a result of you may have allowed her to grow to be disrespectful to you and now she’s telling you what she’s going to do and what her job is.’

Chen felt her conduct in the direction of the couple was as a result of she dreamed of being with the actor, including: ‘I believed she lived her complete life as a fantasy.’

‘If her fantasies are going to infringe on my private life… I’m going to make it troublesome for her,’ she added. ‘She was connected to the management she thought she had on this dynamic.’

During her last months working for De Niro and as their relationship soured, Robinson secretly recorded greater than 40 hours of telephone conversations with she had with different workers.

She admitted the recordings have been ‘embarrassing’ and she or he ‘regrets’ calling Chen a ‘psycho’ and ‘drunk on power’ to different colleagues in the course of the audio beforehand performed to jurors.

On Tuesday, she defended her option to make the covert recordings as a way catching out any witnesses who weren’t telling the reality – however De Niro’s legal professionals used one telephone name to reveal an obvious lie of her personal.

Robinson beforehand characterised De Niro as a boss who would fly off the deal with and shout at her steadily.

But throughout cross-examination by De Niro’s lawyer, Richard Schoenstein on Tuesday, she was performed a clip of her personal audio recording displaying she informed a colleague in 2019 that ‘Bob has screamed at me before but not in the last four or five years’.

During the trial, Robinson additionally obtained a textual content message calling her a ‘disgusting little beast’ amid their fiery civil trial – and her lawyer believes it was despatched by one of many De Niro’s youngsters.

The message learn: ‘You disgusting little beast. You don’t have anything higher to do along with your pathetic life than destroy an 80 year-old man’s life… 

‘Hopefully you and your loved ones will undergo as you may have made others undergo.’  

Robinson is searching for $12 million in damages for extreme emotional misery and reputational hurt.

Her lawsuit was shortly launched following an preliminary lawsuit by De Niro’s Canal Productions in August 2019, accusing her of improper spending.

She can also be accused of spending tens of hundreds extra on private gadgets, meals and journey and spending her days binge watching Netflix.