Robert De Niro subjected female employee to abusive behavior and 'gratuitous unwanted physical contact', claims lawsuit
A bombshell new lawsuit claims Robert De Niro routinely subjected a female employee to creepy and abusive behavior, often leaving threatening voicemails saying "you're f—ing history” and repeatedly calling her a "bitch" and a "brat."
For years, Graham Chase Robinson remained silent despite allegedly being the victim of “gratuitous unwanted physical contact” by the legendary actor, who she says frequently hurled "sexually-charged comments at her" during her time working at his production company Canal Productions Inc., Page Six reports.
The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed by Robinson in Manhattan federal court on Thursday for gender discrimination and wage violations.
Robinson reportedly began working for the production house in 2008 as an executive assistant. In April this year, she was "forced to resign" after becoming the vice president of production and finance at the company.
“Robert De Niro is someone who has clung to old mores. He does not accept the idea that men should treat women as equals,” the suit claims. “He does not care that gender discrimination in the workplace violates the law. Ms. Robinson is a casualty of this attitude.”
According to Robinson, De Niro treated her as his "office wife" and forced her to do “stereotypically female duties, like housework” while consistently denying her overtime and underpaying her at the same time.
The suit also claims the actor allegedly “urinated during telephone calls” with Robinson and would often greet her wearing “pajamas or a bathrobe."
“Among other things, De Niro would direct Ms. Robinson to scratch his back, button his ties and prod him awake when he was in bed,” the complaint reads. “De Niro also stood idly by while his friend slapped Ms. Robinson on her buttocks.”
Furthermore, Robinson said she had no choice but to endure De Niro's jokes about his Viagra prescription. She added that he asked to "imagine him on the toilet."
"De Niro suggested that Ms. Robinson could get pregnant using sperm from her (married) male co-worker,” the suit adds.
Robinson's suit also contains a recording of a voicemail De Niro left for her when she didn't respond to his call. “You f—ing don’t answer my calls? How dare you! You’re about to be fired. You’re f–king history,” the 'Taxi Driver' star is reportedly heard saying in the audio clip.
In August this year, De Niro and his production company sued Robinson for $6 million, accusing her of abruptly quitting and swiping cash for frequent flyer miles. However, the alleged victim claims the suit was a retaliation as she had threatened to sue De Niro first.
“De Niro was enraged at the prospect of Ms. Robinson bringing a lawsuit challenging his behavior,” the suit says. “So, he retaliated and struck first.”
When Robinson thought of quitting, De Niro would allegedly threaten to give her a "bad recommendation" if she did so, thereby exploiting his influence as one of Hollywood's top actors.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.