Robert De Niro’s Company Ordered To Pay $1.2 Million In Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Brought By Ex-Assistant

On Thursday, a Manhattan jury ordered Robert De Niro’s company, Canal Productions, to pay his former assistant a total of $1.26 million in damages after the firm was found liable for gender discrimination and retaliation. 

Although De Niro, 80, was not held personally responsible, the jury determined that Canal Productions should compensate his former longtime right-hand woman, Graham Chase Robinson, $632,142 for each of the charges.

Robinson, 41, worked for De Niro in various positions, from executive assistant to VP of production and finance between 2008 and April 2019. The legal dispute between Robinson and Canal Productions commenced in August 2019, when Canal filed a lawsuit against former employee Robinson, in which they alleged she had stolen millions of Delta SkyMiles, spent thousands on Uber rides and fancy dinners while being a lazy worker who neglected her duties.

Robinson responded with her own $12 million suit and claimed that De Niro never gave her a moment off, underpaid her because she was a woman and frequently subjected her to uncomfortable, sexist behavior and wasted her time with tasks beneath her title.

She says that he would have her button his shirt and wash his sheets – sexist tasks far beneath her position.

Robinson also claimed to have been bullied extensively by De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, who she claimed conspired to have her fired and smear her reputation.

In 2019, Chen had insisted De Niro find a replacement for Robinson, as she felt uncomfortable with Robinson in the house.

Texts sent from Chen read, “I’m not gonna be happy until you tell me she is looking for her replacement” and “if you keep her, you and I will eventually have problems.”

Although Chen was not officially employed by Canal, Judge Lewis Limant determined that she could have been acting as an “agent” of the company.

De Niro insisted he was never abusive towards Robinson, though he admitted he called her a “spoiled brat” once when she didn’t wake him for an appointment. 

Robinson was cleared of all claims against her.

De Niro testified at trial that he asked Robinson to scratch his back on two occasions. “You got me! Shame on you Graham Chase Robinson,” he said in court.