Robert De Niro Furious in Court as He Testifies Against His Ex-Assistant in Bombshell Civil Trial

Robert De Niro appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, where The Associated Press reports that he spent hours delivering a fiery testimony against his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson. The Oscar-winning actor, who’s currently starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, often was barely able to contain his fury at the proceedings. At one point he shouted to the court, “This is all nonsense!”

Several times during the proceedings, De Niro’s lawyers objected to the actor’s own remarks. He often responded by speaking over his own counsel, which earned him an admonishment from Judge Lewis J. Liman. Later, as De Niro hit back at claims from Robinson’s lawyer, the actor blurted out, “Can I ask a question?” The request was denied.

The proceedings encompass two separate lawsuits, which have been combined and moved to civil court. De Niro’s Canal Productions first filed a $6 million lawsuit against Robinson when she quit her $300,000-per-year position in 2019. She had been employed by De Niro since 2008, working her way up from his personal assistant to Vice President of Production at Canal. Canal claims Robinson spent exorbitant amounts of company money on personal expenses, and “loafed during work hours, binge-watching astounding hours of TV shows on Netflix.”

Robinson countersued Canal and De Niro for $12 million, alleging that he behaved abusively towards her, calling her names, and bringing severe emotional distress and reputational harm. She also says De Niro refused to provide her with a reference for a new job after Robinson repeatedly clashed with the actor’s partner, Tiffany Chen.

Robinson’s lawyers allege the trouble stemmed from Chen believing Robinson’s interactions with De Niro were inappropriate. Jurors were shown text messages from Chen to De Niro in which she told the star Robinson had “imaginary intimacy” with him.

“Her possessive manner over the house makes me very uncomfortable, down to having the cable bill and the security system password be [in] her name,” Chen said in a text to De Niro, according to court records (via The New York Post). “It’s all very weird and she is not easing up with the weird shit either. I do feel it’s getting worse.”

“[Chen] felt there was something [suspicious] there and she may have been right,” De Niro told the court. When Robinson’s counsel questioned Chen’s influence on De Niro, the star raised his voice. “We make decisions together,” he snapped.

Robinson, meanwhile, contends that De Niro behaved lecherously, “urinating during phone calls” and greeting her clad only in “pajamas or a bathrobe.” She claims that the star repeatedly requested she scratch his back, and when she recommended he use a backscratcher De Niro allegedly told her, “I like the way you do it.”

Robinson also alleges that the Taxi Driver star forced her to keep him apprised of her every move, including on weekends or even when she left the house to exercise. Robinson also says he consistently pulled her out of bed at odd hours of the night, which caused De Niro to explode with anger.

“That was one time when I cracked my back falling down the stairs!” he roared. He said that he didn’t even call Robinson immediately, waiting several hours until around 5 a.m. to request she take him to the hospital.

De Niro is expected to continue his testimony on Tuesday. The trial, which will see testimony from other Canal employees, is expected to last two weeks.