Robert De Niro has been hit with a $12 million lawsuit accusing him of sexist workplace behavior and harassment.
Robert De Niro’s former employee, Graham Chase Robinson, is suing both the actor and his corporation Canal Productions, Inc.
Robinson was the vice president of production and finance, and de Niro's executive assistant, at Canal Productions in 2017.
In August, De Niro filed a $6 million lawsuit against Robinson claiming she embezzled money from the company and binge-watched Netflix on the job. The lawsuit gained media attention for the accusation claiming Robinson spent four days watching 'Friends' instead of working.
De Niro, who currently stars in 'Joker', is being accused of fostering an abusive working environment for women. He purportedly used sexist language, calling female employees “c—s” and “bitches,” and looked away when Robinson was spanked on the butt by a fellow employee.
Robinson’s lawsuit also states that De Niro requested she “scratch his back, button his shirts, fix his collars, tie his ties, and prod him awake when he was in bed.”
Other examples of harassment from the suit include suggesting Robinson should get pregnant using a married male co-worker’s sperm, jokes about his Viagra prescription, lashing out at Robinson while he was intoxicated, urinating while on the phone with her, and asking her to “imagine him on the toilet.”
The law firm has published a voicemail from De Niro calling Robinson a “spoiled f**king brat” and yelling at her for not answering his call.
The lawsuit claims the actor is “someone who has clung to old mores. He does not accept the idea that men should treat women as equals. He does not care that gender discrimination in the workplace violates the law. Ms. Robinson is a casualty of this attitude.”
It continues:
“De Niro took a page out of the Bill O’Reilly playbook. Before Ms. Robinson could sue, De Niro retaliated. He had Canal sue Ms. Robinson in New York County Supreme Court and ensured that the suit would be widely publicized. The lawsuit is replete with ‘clickbait’ allegations that falsely characterize Ms. Robinson as a loafer, a thief, and a miscreant. Now, when her name is Googled, these allegations pop up on the screen. The results have been devastating to Ms. Robinson. Her reputation and her career have been destroyed.”
Tom Harvey, attorney for Robert De Niro, has issued the following statement: “The allegations made by Graham Chase Robinson against Robert De Niro are beyond absurd.”
