A judge has ordered Robert De Niro’s company pay his former assistant $1.2 million dollars following his trial.
Canal Productions, the actor’s company, is expected to make two payments of $632,143 to Graham Chase Robinson, 41, although De Niro was not personally liable for the abuse she suffered.
Jurors in Manhattan federal court came to the decision on Thursday after five hours of deliberation.
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De Niro, 80, was not in court for the verdict but had previously taken the stand and given evidence last month. He had repeatedly called the accusations that he was an abusive boss as ‘nonsense’.
The Oscar winning actor and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, had said that Robinson had become a problem working for him when he aspirations to move beyond the company led her to make escalating demands.
De Niro told jurors, while in the witness box, that he had boosted Robinson’s salary from less than $100,000 annually to $300,000 and elevated her title to vice president of production and finance, at her request. This was despite the fact her responsibilities remained largely the same, according to the actor.
He also said that when she quit, she had stolen an estimated $85,000 in airline miles, betrayed his trust and violated unwritten rules.
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This resulted in Canal productions suing Robinson in August 2019. Robinson, who had worked for De Niro for 11 years, hit back with her own $12 million lawsuit. She alleged she was given tasks that were beneath her job title, was underpaid because she was a woman and subjected to inappropriate behavior from De Niro. Behavior such as scratching his back or talking to him on the phone while he urinated.
“I am the VP of Production and Finance and I am ordering vacuum cleaners,” Robinson said during her testimony on November 7.
De Niro admitted during the trial that he had asked her to scratch his back at least on two occasions, saying ‘Ok, twice? You got me!’ However, he dismissed the idea that there was anything sexual in the request.
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He also admitted that he had previously berated her and used profanity at her but clarified that “[he] was never abusive ever.”
The actor also said he may have raised his voice in her presence but never with disrespect.
Robinson was cleared of all the claims against her and she was later pictured leaving the court house smiling.
Her attorney, Brent Hannafan said: “The jury saw what Ms. Robinson saw and completely vindicated her.”
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“We’re thrilled with the verdict. Ms. Robinson is thrilled with the verdict. She feels vindicated,”
Topics: News, US News, Robert De Niro