After hours of deliberations, a jury in New York City federal court reaches a verdict in the gender discrimination case brought by the Oscar winner's former employee Graham Chase Robinson.
- Nov 10, 2023
AceShowbiz - Robert De Niro ended with a loss in the gender discrimination case involving his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson. On Thursday, November 9, the jury reached a verdict that the veteran actor's company Canal Productions had to pay $1.26 million in damages to Robinson.
While De Niro was not personally liable, a jury in New York City federal court found his company liable for gender discrimination and retaliation against Robinson. The decision was made after nearly five hours of deliberation.
Robinson's legal team member, David Sanford, chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp, said in a statement, "We are delighted that the jury saw what we saw and returned a verdict in Chase Robinson's favor against Robert De Niro's company, Canal Productions." He continued, "Not only did Ms. Robinson win her case against Canal but the jury completely vindicated Ms. Robinson by finding De Niro's claims against her to be without merit."
Prior to the verdict, the "Goodfellas" star labeled Robinson a "f**king spoiled brat" during his testimony. When her attorney Andrew Macurdy asked the actor if he yelled at her when she didn't wake him up in time for an important meeting, he confessed he "berated her." However, the 80-year-old actor denied actually yelling at his former assistant, adding, "I've raised my voice. I don't yell. You wanna dispute that? That's one thing I don't do."
De Niro also slammed the gender discrimination allegations. "Every little thing she's trying to get me on is nonsense! Shame on you, Chase Robinson," he said. He additionally called the accusations "ridiculous."
De Niro first sued Robinson in a $3 million lawsuit for allegedly raiding his company repository in addition to stealing airline miles. In her counter lawsuit, Graham accused the Oscar winner of gender discrimination among others and is seeking $12 million in damages for severe emotional distress and reputational harm.
