ENTERTAINMENT
Robert De Niro’s production company ordered to pay $1.26 million to former assistant
The veteran actor’s business was accused of gender discrimination and retaliation by plaintiff Graham Chase Robinson, who left Canal Productions in 2019.
Bad news for Robert De Niro and his production company, Canal Productions. A New York court has ordered the veteran actor’s production company to pay nearly $1.2 million to his former assistant for gender discrimination and retaliation.
A jury at U.S. Court in New York returned a verdict in favour of the plaintiff, Graham Chase Robinson, on Thursday, although, as reported by Variety, De Niro himself was not found to be liable.
Why did Robinson file a lawsuit against De Niro and Canal Productions?
Robinson had filed a lawsuit against Canal Production which accused De Niro of being “an abusive boss” and that he had subjected her to sexually inappropriate behaviour, such as forcing her to “scratch his back”. The 80-year-old insisted there had been no sexual intention and that he had only done so once or twice.
Robinson, who performed a number of roles with Canal Productions between 2008 and 2019, also alleged that she was underpaid because of her gender and that, despite her lofty position in the company, was ordered to carry out a number of domestic tasks such as washing De Niro’s sheets.
De Niro unsuccessfully countersues former assistant
The plaintiff originally sued Canal Productions and De Niro for $12 million but was countersued for $6 million for purportedly using the actor’s credit card without his permission, stealing thousands of dollars worth of air miles to her personal account and watching television during working hours. Robinson was found not liable of any of the claims made against her.