Robert De Niro on Oct. 30.Photo:David Dee Delgado/Getty
David Dee Delgado/Getty
Robert De Niro’s testimony turned heated while taking the stand on the first day of acivil trialregarding his company Canal Productions and his former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson.
On Monday, De Niro, 80, was the first to take the stand during the trial at a federal courthouse in New York City. During questioning from Robinson’s legal counsel, theKillers of the Flower Moonstar agreed that the ex-assistant “did anything and everything within the confines of her job“ but objected to “the implication that it is anything and everything in my personal life.”
Judge Lewis J. Liman asked De Niro and Robinson’s attorney Andrew Macurdy to keep their voices down and speak more slowly during a line of questioning about which of Robinson’s duties fell under her official job description.
When asked about tasks Robinson completed for De Niro’s girlfriend,Tiffany Chen, the actor became visibly upset, explaining he and Chen “work together.”
Robinson was first hired as theRaging BullOscar winner’s assistant at Canal Productions in 2008. Other tasks during her 11 years of employment that Macurdy asked De Niro to clarify included running operations at his townhouse, helping to furnish an apartment and creating Valentine’s Day cards for his then-wife,Grace Hightower.
The latter, said De Niro, was “one of the few things [Robinson] was very good at.”
Robert De Niro in New York City on Oct. 30.David Dee Delgado/Getty
The release also alleged that Chen had “falsely accused Robinson of being in love” with De Niro and that he “then retaliated after Robinson complained, stripping Robinson of her job duties and driving her to resign” in April 2019.
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The civil trial in New York will continue to feature texts and emails shared between De Niro and Chen, who in one message screenshot displayed in court called Robinson “a nasty b—-.” In another screenshot, Chen wrote that Robinson has an idea of “demented imaginary intimacy.”
He also claimed Robinson was “rude” to his girlfriend, which he deemed “unacceptable as an employee… I didn’t ask her to scrub floors.”
After Robinson’s attorney Brent Hannafan claimed that she “had to be on call all the time and call her he would,” the court was shown multiple email screenshots of Robinson letting her boss know where she was on holidays and weekends.
De Niro countered that her assigned working hours “were civilized… You’re making it out like I controlled her.”
The issue that led to problems with Robinson’s work performance, De Niro added, was that “instead of doing what she needed to do, she didn’t."
“I believe in the honor system,”The Irishmanactor stated. “I only value work if it is done right or else it reflects poorly on me.”
Robert De Niro and Tiffany Chen on June 7.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
In his opening statements, De Niro’s attorney Rich Schoenstein said the conflict with Robinson, who he characterized as “the single most difficult person to work with at Canal,” had “nothing to do with gender, everything to do with conduct.”
Aside from Robinson and De Niro’s testimony, the jury will also hear from De Niro’s lawyer Tom Harvey, his accountant Michael Tasch, several employees who worked with Robinson at Canal between 2008 and 2019, and Chen, who De Niro has beendating since 2018.
Chen and De Niro couple announced theywelcomed a child together—Gia Virginia Chen De Niro, his seventh child — in May.
source: people.com
