During the civil trial in New York City , Robert De Niro appeared more composed and answered friendlier questions from one of his lawyers on Tuesday. He stated that he would provide his departing personal assistant with a job recommendation when she left. However, he clarified that he would not sign the draft letter she had submitted for his signature after she abruptly resigned in 2019, despite an earlier agreement for her to continue working.
De Niro explained his stance, saying, “I said, ‘There’s no way I can sign that now.’” This testimony came during Day 2 of the civil trial that pits him against his former employee, Graham Chase Robinson. Robinson has accused De Niro of gender discrimination, wage theft, and retaliatory behavior. Additionally, jurors in the Manhattan federal courtroom are considering De Niro’s counterclaim that Robinson misused a company credit card for personal expenses and took more than 5 million frequent-flier miles.
The draft of the recommendation letter for graduate school, written in a manner mimicking De Niro’s voice, contained what he described as “preposterous” claims about the work Graham Chase Robinson had supposedly done during her 11 years at De Niro’s business and personal services company, Canal. De Niro mentioned this during his final testimony before being excused as a witness and leaving the courtroom. Earlier in the day, he expressed his discontent by shouting, “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!” while refuting allegations of questionable behavior towards her.
De Niro also refuted the notion that he sued Robinson with the intention of garnering negative news coverage against her. He testified that his primary aim was to recover the company property she had taken. New York City
Robinson’s lawsuit portrays De Niro’s refusal to provide her with a recommendation as retribution for her resignation. She had later requested a separate job-recommendation letter, a severance package, a press release announcing her departure, and payment of unspecified legal fees—none of which were granted. As per her lawyers, she has not been employed since and has been profoundly affected by the fallout with De Niro, even expressing wariness of leaving her home.
The draft letter for the London School of Economics credited Robinson for her leadership within the small team at Canal, which had fewer than five employees, and for enhancing morale by addressing an issue related to employee healthcare. When De Niro’s lawyer, Laurent Drogin, inquired about company morale during Robinson’s tenure, De Niro indicated that his understanding was that it was not favorable.