Robert De Niro’s production company, Canal, must pay an ex-assistant to the actor $1.2 million after it lost a sexism lawsuit brought against it.
Graham Chase Robinson was awarded two identical damages payments of $632,142.96 for gender discrimination and retaliation after filing the lawsuit against the actor’s production company, per The Daily Mail. She originally sought $12 million.
The settlement amount was meant to represent four years of lost work based on her previous salary. Robinson, 41, claimed that she was unable to find a new job after being let go from De Niro’s employment and faulted him for it.
De Niro counter-sued his former employee for $6 million to account for the airline miles she allegedly stole from him, but she was found not liable. The outlet reported that Robinson was visibly overjoyed after the verdict was read and smiled at the jurors as they left the courtroom.
“We are delighted that the jury saw what we saw and returned a verdict in Chase Robinson’s favor against Robert De Niro’s company, Canal Productions,” Robinson’s lawyer David Sanford said.
“Not only did Ms Robinson win her case against Canal but the jury completely vindicated Ms. Robinson by finding De Niro’s claims against her to be without merit.”
De Niro was not present for the reading of the verdict, but his attorney also expressed that it was “gratifying” that De Niro was not personally found liable.
“I’m not going to comment on the verdict – we have to analyze the damage amount,” Richard Schoenstein said.
“It strikes me as a compromise. Obviously they were seeking $12 million and they got $600,000,” he added. “I am very grateful for the service of the jury. We are really happy they separated out Bob from this. It is a dispute between an employee and their former employer.”
Robinson began working for De Niro’s company in 2008 as an executive assistant with a $75,000 salary. She exited in April 2019 with the title of VP of Production and Finance and a $300,000 salary. Robinson accused De Niro of calling her a “b*tch” on multiple occasions and berating her for minor infractions.
Robinson also claimed female employees were treated differently than their male counterparts. “Female employees were expected to be on call 24/7 for Bob. He didn’t expect male employees to be on call for him,” she said during her testimony.
“I gave this job my life. I didn’t have kids because I worked,” she claimed.
While Robinson’s psychiatrist said Robinson suffered from a “serious and often disabling psychological condition” including insomnia and memory loss due to the trauma of losing her livelihood and reputation, a psychiatrist hired by De Niro’s lawyers said the ex-staffer was “narcissistic and paranoid.”