Robert De Niro's inner character actor came out, perhaps he also got confused thinking he was on a set, and exclaimed out loud, looking at her: "Shame on you, Chase Robinson!"
It turns out that it was not a filming, that the setting was something as real as a federal court in Manhattan, specifically the stand from where he testified, and the aforementioned, Graham Chase Robinson, was his former assistant, with whom he has had a legal battle. for the last four years, exchanging accusations. Robinson said she had been mistreated and undervalued for being a woman, and De Niro and his company, Canal Productions, said she had taken thousands of dollars (at least 85,000 in airline miles) or wasted large sums.
This Thursday, after five hours of deliberation, the seven members of the jury in this civil case found no responsibility in De Niro, 80, for the alleged abuse of the former advisor. But he did consider that Canal Productions was accused of gender discrimination against Robinson, to whom they attributed "stereotypically feminine jobs", such as washing the star's sheets and providing assistance in her home, like a chacha, despite the fact that she had risen in the ranks. the company hierarchy. The company must compensate her with 1.3 million dollars.
The actor had to spend three days in the courtroom, and two giving evidence, in this trial that lasted two weeks. When the verdict was read Thursday afternoon, De Niro was not at the courthouse.
Robinson, 41, responded on the stand that her former boss and his partner, Tiffany Chen, conspired against her to make her life's work a nightmare. Until she had to resign from her position, after working for the company for more than a decade. The jury, also unanimously, found no liability regarding the claim made against her by Canal Productions, which asked for six million.
During the reading of the verdict, the former advisor expressed her satisfaction with a smile. Once the jury left the room, Robinson hugged her attorneys. “Not only has she won her case against Canal Productions, but the jury has vindicated Robinson because it has dismissed De Niro's claim against her,” stressed David Sandford, president of the law firm that defended Robinson. She left the court without speaking to the media.
Once outside the courtroom, lawyer Richard C. Schoenstein, who represented the actor, expressed his satisfaction that he had not found any liability with respect to his client, either for discrimination or retaliation. “Robert de Niro has been exonerated,” he stressed. He noted that they had not yet decided whether they would appeal the decision against the company.
De Niro and Chen testified during the oral hearing that Robinson became a problem when he began demanding promotion positions at Canal Productions or he would leave the job.
The actor explained to the jury that he promoted the increase in the employee's salary from $100,000 per year to $300,000, as well as the granting of the title of vice president of production and finance, at her request, although her responsibility remained practically the same.
But he left the occupation and then, according to De Niro, took $85,000 in airline miles, a betrayal of his commitment to loyalty and fiduciary duty, as well as violating the unwritten rule of using common sense and doing the right thing.
From the witness stand, he acknowledged some of the claims about gender discrimination and retaliation that Robinson included in his complaint, in which he requested compensation of twelve million. She accepted, for example, that she could have said that her personal trainer was better paid than her because he had a family to provide for.
Nor did he deny that he asked him to scratch his back on a couple of occasions, an issue that he later despised. “Okay, two? You caught me,” she replied with contempt, emphasizing that in those requests there was neither disrespect nor lasciviousness.
He admitted that he reprimanded her, although he ruled out using profanities, even though he could have called her a “bitch” or “brat” on occasion. “I was never abusive, never,” he stressed. He even denied that he yelled at her, arguing that every little thing with The fact that she was trying to catch him was nonsense and that, at most, she had raised her voice in his presence, but never contemptuously.
Robinson confessed in court that she quit her job due to “an emotional and mental breakdown,” which left her with an overwhelming feeling of “having hit rock bottom.” She said she had suffered from anxiety and depression since leaving her job in 2019 and that He has not worked in four years despite applying for 638 jobs.
"I do not have a social life. I feel humiliated and ashamed, I feel judged, hurt. I have lost my life, my career, my financial independence. I lost everything,” she noted. De Niro has won two Oscars for his performances in 'Raging Bull' (best actor) and for 'The Godfather II' (best supporting actor).
