Robert De Niro shouted “Shame on you!” at his former executive assistant and vice-president on Tuesday as he testified in a New York courtroom, denying claims he was abusive towards his employee who is now seeking millions of dollars in damages.
Graham Chase Robinson watched with her lawyers while De Niro’s anger built as attorney Andrew Macurdy pelted him with accusations his client made about De Niro’s behaviour toward Robinson as she served his needs, large and small, from 2008 until her resignation in 2019.
Robinson, 41, seeks $12m in damages for emotional distress and reputational harm that she claims has left her jobless and unable to recover from the trauma of her job. She was being paid $300,000 annually when she quit, frustrated by her interactions with De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, and the effect she believed it was having on the actor.
The jury is also considering evidence pertaining to a 2019 lawsuit De Niro filed against Robinson in which he claimed that she stole things from him, including five million points that could be used for airline flights that had been accrued on a company credit card, and watched “astounding hours of TV shows” during working hours. De Niro is seeking the return of three years worth of Robinson’s salary.
On Tuesday, Macurdy asked De Niro whether it was true that he sometimes urinated as he spoke with Robinson on the telephone.
“Give me a break with this nonsense. You got us all here for this?” De Niro said.
Robinson’s counsel also claimed that De Niro called her twice during a family member’s funeral. De Niro denied that he knew she was at a funeral at the time.
De Niro also denied he was verbally abusive to Robinson and angrily rebuked her allegation that he told her he preferred that she scratch his back rather than using a back-scratching device. The actor said it might have happened once or twice, but “never was with disrespect or lewdness.”
Finally, he angrily looked toward Robinson and shouted: “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”
Quickly, he added an apology in a quieter voice, as he glanced toward judge Lewis J Liman.
Since beginning testimony on Monday, De Niro has frequently called the proceedings “nonsense”. On Tuesday, while being questioned by the plaintiff’s counsel, he said, “The whole case is nonsense. It’s absurd. But I’m here!”
De Niro, 80, has won two Oscars in a six-decade movie career that has featured memorable roles in films including The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull. His latest film is Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
The trial is expected to run until 10 November.
Associated Press contributed to this report
