Photo:David Dee Delgado/Getty
David Dee Delgado/Getty
Robert De Niro’s former assistantGraham Chase Robinsonis taking the stand as she speaks out at the pair’s court battle.
On Thursday, Robinson testified at a federal courthouse in New York City, describing her time working for De Niro, 80, and his company Canal Productions from 2008 to 2019.
“After you left the office, you — the family, Bob and his family, would call the bat phone,” she said, referring to a work phone she kept on her at all times during the course of her employment. “And whenever it rang, whether it was 5:00 in the morning or 10:00 o’clock at night, you would pick it up. And that is Monday through Sunday. It didn’t matter if you were in New York and the family was in Doha… You picked it up regardless of the time, and then helped them with whatever they needed.”
Robinson testified that during the final three years of her employment with Canal Productions, De Niro typically called her “five to 10 times a day” and disagreed withDe Niro’s testimony earlier this weekthat he only called her “during civilized hours.” She also contested his assertion that he did not yell at her.
Graham Chase Robinson and Robert De Niro.David Dee Delgado/Getty
“Sometimes I would e-mail him, and he couldn’t find the e-mail, and he would [call] yelling and screaming saying, ‘I didn’t receive it,’ when he did,” she told the court. “When he got frustrated, when he couldn’t find his driver. There are various different reasons why he would get angry.”
“He got frustrated quite often,” Robinson added.
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Robert De Niro on Oct. 30, 2023.David Dee Delgado/Getty
Robinson also testified that she kept her work phone “just attached to me” during her time working for De Niro and his production company, which originallyfiled a $6 million lawsuitagainst her following her resignation in 2019. They alleged that she excessively binge-watched Netflix shows while working, charged personal meals and groceries to the company’s credit card and inappropriately used “her employer’s fund for her personal gain” including De Niro’s frequent flyer airline miles.
Graham Chase Robinson on Oct. 30, 2023.David Dee Delgado/Getty
“When I would go to a doctor’s appointment, he would call me. When I would go for a run, he would call me,” Robinson said. “When I was taking my mother to the emergency room and let him know, he called me. When I told him I wasn’t going to be available for my grandmother’s funeral, he called me twice.”
During his testimony Monday, De Niro said Robinson’s claims are blown out of proportion.
“She is working for me; she has to do what I’m asking,” De Niro said on the stand during questioning from Robinson’s legal counsel. “It is not like I’m asking her to go out on the floor and scrape floors and go out and mop the floor. I didn’t do any of that and neither did [girlfriendChen], so this is all nonsense.”
The trial, which began Monday, is expected to last two weeks total.
source: people.com
