Robert De Niro bragged to his staff about his much younger girlfriend, a former assistant testified Friday — as he accused the Oscar winner of being “creepy” and called her a bitch several times.
“[De Niro] refers to the age difference [with girlfriend Tiffany Chen] 30 years old and he bragged about it,” said Graham Chase Robinson in the stands.
De Niro, 80, also recruited Robinson to help adjust Chen, 45, to his townhouse and high-flying lifestyle, he added.
“He said, ‘He didn’t [ex-wife] Rahmat [Hightower] — he’s going to need your help,” he recalled of the “Raging Bull” star’s early days with Chen.
Robinson’s lawsuit is the latest in his ongoing legal battle with De Niro, with whom he worked from 2008 to 2019.
In August 2019, De Niro’s Canal Productions sued Robinson for allegedly watching Netflix at work and remotely flipping the “Killers of the Flower Moon” cast.
Robinson later sued De Niro, whom he accused of being a nightmare boss who was prone to screaming tantrums and sexually harassing him.
On Friday, Robinson took a moment to compose herself before detailing at least two occasions where she claims De Niro called her a bitch.
“Bob started yelling at me. He said I complained … He then called back, yelled at me more and he said I was acting like a little bitch and he hung up,” she cried, recalling the couple’s conversation following the fire at the actor’s home.
On another occasion, around Christmas 2017, De Niro was “screaming because he couldn’t find a present from the office,” Robinson, 41, continued.
“He curses left and right. He only said I was a bitch because he said I complained and he insulted me,” he claimed.
Graham Chase Robinson has accused his former boss Robert De Niro of calling him a “bitch”. Gregory P. Mango
“It’s very humbling. It hurts to be called that name when you’re just trying to do your job.
‘It hurts to hear that [word] from your boss.”
She went on to claim that De Niro asked her to scratch her back “two, two or three times” during her last three years working at Canal.
“I don’t know if I protested [doing it]. I stated that there is a back scratch that he can use,” he explained.
But De Niro insisted, “I like the way you do it,'” Robinson claimed.
De Niro testified earlier this week. Alec Tabak
“It’s creepy. It’s just disgusting.”
De Niro himself made headlines on Tuesday, when he exploded in his seat when asked about the same incident.
“OK, twice? You got me! I say this is bullshit,” he scoffed after admitting to asking Robinson to perform the invasive task — but only because he supposedly had an itch in a place he couldn’t reach.
Robinson testified Friday that his former boss had a short fuse and often used abusive language.
“He called Jane Rosenthal, his business partner, ac–t,” he claimed.
Robinson also claimed that De Niro was stingy in allowing her to take vacations or vacations — even though he often forgot his own schedule and even important events like his children’s anniversaries and birthdays.
According to De Niro, Robinson neglected his duties to watch Netflix and stole distance from him.AP
“I will do the same work as if I was working from home or an office,” he said of the demands of his job even though he was scheduled to be away.
Once, he said, he had to stop running on the Bridle Path in Central Park because De Niro asked him to get a baseball glove for his son.
“He wanted to play catch with his son. I stopped running around the Bridle Path in Central Park and raced to Modell… because he wanted it right away,” he told the court.
De Niro also has a vet vacation rental in Montauk for him, Robinson claims.
Graham Chase Robinson worked for De Niro from 2008 to 2019.Gregory P. Mango
He also has different standards for male and female employees, Robinson claimed Friday.
“Female employees are expected to be available 24/7 for Bob. He didn’t expect a male employee to call him that,” she claimed, adding that the A-lister referred to his female assistant as “girl.”
“Male workers weren’t available and Bob didn’t mind,” she claims.
In exchange for his lifelong loyalty, De Niro gave lavish gifts, including a Rolex watch for his 30th birthday, Robinson said.
“He’s very generous when it comes to that,” he admitted.
He also helps staff out with hotel stays sometimes for up to 20 days, Robinson said.
But when he approached De Niro about receiving more compensation in December 2018, however, he found his concerns dismissed.
When Robinson asked to receive the same salary as Dan Harvey, De Niro’s personal trainer, the actor allegedly told him, “You don’t have kids. And have a family to support.”
Robinson claims that De Niro helped him get his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, used to his high-flying lifestyle.Getty Images for Air Mail/Warner Brothers Discovery
“It makes me very sad. It upset me, it made me angry … I was really hurt by that comment,” Robinson lamented on Friday.
“I gave this job my life. I don’t have children because I work.”
The couple eventually agreed to a $300,000 salary, Robinson said, adding that when he finally resigned, the “Taxi Driver” star gave him the cold shoulder.
“He [said he] would give me a bad recommendation,” Robinson claimed.
“He actually bragging about his name on the resume is payment enough.”
Robinson’s lawsuit comes just a day after Chen – who gave birth to her and De Niro’s daughter, Gia, earlier this year – testified that the former assistant was “trying to become” De Niro’s wife.
“She’s a mean, insecure, country girl,” Chen insists.
The tension with Robinson eventually forced Chen to give De Niro an ultimatum.
“If you keep it up, you and I will end up in trouble,” Chen texted De Niro around 2:30 a.m. in March 2019, according to records submitted to the court.
Chen also dismissed a text message he sent Robinson thanking him for his work in 2018 as “sarcasm.”
Under cross-examination, Chen explained that he thought Robinson was after the affair with De Niro’s “credit card” and “not him.”
In court on Friday, however, Robinson testified that he felt “targeted” by Chen.
“I feel like I was given an impossible task by him. I feel like I’m always given a demeaning job,” he claimed.
“I kept working and working and all that work really created this chaos for me. I can not sleep; I’ll wake up thinking what I need to do for the townhouse, what I need to do for Tiffany for the day.”
De Niro and Robinson are suing each other over alleged violations during their 11-year working relationship.AP
During brief cross-examination by De Niro’s attorney Richard Schoenstein before testimony ended Friday, the attorney pressed Robinson on whether he had ever used the “B word” directed at other Canal employees.
He said he didn’t remember saying it directly to anyone, but later said he used it several times to describe Chen.
“And you used that word several times to describe Miss Chen?” Schoenstein asked.
“I’ve used it a few times to describe Tiffany,” Robinson replied.
Jurors later heard a taped conversation with Robinson and another Canal employee, in which the former aide called Chen a “sociopathic bitch who should grow a pair of balls.”
Robinson began working for De Niro in 2008. In her lawsuit, she claims that she was “forced to resign” from the six-figure gig in April 2019.
His resignation email – which was read out in court – claimed that he had been “loyal, protective (to the point of alienating others), honest and beyond hard working (80-90 hour weeks).”
“I poured my heart and soul into this job and as a result other parts of my life and opportunities were put on hold. You always come first,” he wrote.
De Niro’s own suit, however, claims that Robinson actually quit because “suspicions arose” about his “honesty, integrity, work ethic and motivation.”
In the more than three years since leaving Canal Productions, Robinson has applied to 638 jobs, he testified Friday – but hasn’t gotten an interview at a single one.
He now suffers from depression and anxiety, has trouble sleeping and avoids going out and stays at home with his mother, Robinson added.
“I have lost my life. I have lost my career. I have lost my financial freedom. I have lost everything,” he lamented.
Robinson will return to the stand Monday to face further cross-examination from Schoenstein.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
