The two-week discrimination lawsuit trial against actor Robert De Niro ended on Thursday, November 9. The company owned by De Niro has been instructed by a Manhattan jury to pay $1.2 million to his ex-assistant.
The firm was found responsible for gender discrimination and retaliation. This concludes a high-profile lawsuit in which the actor was alleged to be a hostile boss who exposed his subordinate to sexist behavior.
The verdict was arrived at by jurors in Manhattan federal court after approximately five hours of deliberation on Thursday and a two-week trial. The 80-year-old Academy Award recipient provided critical testimony in an attempt to refute Graham Chase Robinson’s accusations of him being an unpleasant employer.
Although De Niro was not personally held accountable, the jury determined his company, Canal Productions, owes Robinson, his former principal associate, $632,142 for each of the claims.
“Definitely, they made the right decision concerning Mr. De Niro,” expressed Richard Schoenstein, De Niro’s lawyer, following the verdict announcement.
Tuesday, October 31, in Manhattan, New York, was marked by actor De Niro’s presence on the witness stand in federal court, where he addressed the accusations of gender discrimination. These allegations were raised by his former assistant, Robinson, who worked her way up to vice president at Canal Productions. The legal proceedings have gained widespread media interest, centering on Robinson’s assertions of receiving demeaning treatment and being given inappropriate tasks during her employment.
Robinson charged De Niro with calling her his “office wife” and assigning her menial tasks like washing his bed sheets, actions that she deemed unbefitting of her professional position. In his courtroom testimony, De Niro acknowledged chastising Robinson for failing to rouse him for a critical meeting and admitted that he might have described her using terms such as “petulant,” “snippy,” and “f——g spoiled brat.”
A moment of heightened tension surfaced during the trial when De Niro was questioned about supposedly urinating while on the phone with Robinson. He responded forcefully, directing a “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!” toward his former assistant.
Robinson’s lawsuit also accused De Niro of years of gender discrimination and harassment, including claims of being compensated less than a male colleague with the same job title. In response, Canal Productions has filed a countersuit alleging Robinson illicitly transferred over $450,000 worth of airline miles from the company.
In the role of vice president of production and finance, Robinson’s salary was reported to be $300,000 annually. Nevertheless, she resigned, claiming her exit was due to damaging conduct equivalent to sabotage at the company. De Niro has vehemently denied the lawsuit’s allegations, dismissing them as “nonsense” and “absurd,” and also denied ever mistreating Robinson, including allegations of personal favors or inappropriate contact during sensitive times such as a family funeral.
The trial, which unfolded in Manhattan’s federal court, concluded a four-year legal wrangle that has captured significant interest from the public and the press.
