The trial on gender discrimination and retaliation charges against Robert De Niro and his loan-out company, Canal Productions, began on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Graham Chase Robinson, the former vice president of production and finance at Canal, is the plaintiff in this case, alleging that De Niro subjected her to vulgar and inappropriate comments, underpaid and overworked her due to her gender, and retaliated against her when she raised concerns.
According to Robinson, De Niro referred to her as a “spoiled brat” in a profanity-laden voicemail simply because she did not pick up a phone call. She also claimed that she was still assigned gender-specific tasks, such as mending clothing and doing laundry, even though she held an executive position. These allegations point to a larger issue of gender discrimination in the workplace, with Robinson stating that De Niro clings to outdated beliefs and does not treat women as equals.
One aspect of Robinson’s retaliation claim revolves around her interactions with De Niro’s girlfriend, Tiffany Chen. Robinson alleges that Chen became jealous of her relationship with De Niro and purposely pushed her out of the job. The lawsuit seeks at least $12 million in damages.
This trial is preceded by a lawsuit that Canal Productions filed against Robinson in August 2019, alleging that she had misused company credit cards and watched excessive amounts of TV while on the clock. Robinson’s legal team argues that this lawsuit was filed in retaliation after Robinson informed De Niro that she was considering filing a gender discrimination suit against him. In July 2021, a federal judge allowed De Niro to counterclaim the allegations made against him in state court.
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The trial began with the selection of eight jurors, followed by opening arguments from both sides. Robinson’s counsel portrayed her as a loyal employee and highlighted emails from Chen to De Niro where she seemingly expressed animosity towards Robinson, stating, “This bitch needs to be put in her fucking place.” However, the defense maintains that there was no retaliation and no romantic relationship between De Niro and Robinson. They argue that the case revolves around a breach of trust between the two parties and claim that Robinson charged an excessive amount of personal expenses to the company and transferred five million Delta SkyMiles to her account before planning to leave.
De Niro took the stand as the first witness called by the plaintiff’s counsel. He denied the implication that he asked Robinson to do “anything and everything” as part of her job, stating that he was careful about the tasks he assigned to her. De Niro also clarified that calling Robinson at 4:30 a.m. after hurting his back was an isolated incident. Additionally, he defended his counsel’s opening statements by stating that while Robinson’s title changed, her responsibilities remained the same, emphasizing that the titles themselves were not important.
The questioning from the plaintiff’s counsel led to a heated exchange between De Niro and the counsel, with Judge Lewis J. Liman intervening to maintain order. De Niro was reminded by the judge to answer the questions directly without additional commentary. While De Niro agreed that Robinson and Chen had a disagreement over moving paintings, he claimed that Robinson was disrespectful towards Chen.
The trial is set to continue with De Niro’s testimony and cross-examination by his counsel on Tuesday. It is expected to conclude on November 10th.
This trial sheds light on the pervasive issue of gender discrimination in the workplace and the importance of recognizing and addressing it. The outcome of this case will not only impact the parties involved but also serve as a precedent for future cases involving similar allegations. It is crucial that individuals are held accountable for discriminatory behavior, and victims are provided with a fair and just resolution.
