De Niro is being sued for gender discrimination by Graham Chase Robinson for $12 million
Robert De Niro arriving to court in New York City
Robert De Niro arrived at a New York City courthouse in the gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against him and Canal Productions.
As new details emerge in Robert De Niro's employee discrimination trial, his former assistant is accusing the actor of abusive behavior.
Graham Chase Robinson has alleged the actor repeatedly made inappropriate requests including asking her to scratch his back several times.
"I had mentioned that there was a back scratcher he could use instead," Robinson, 41, insisted, according to the court transcript. "He said he preferred the way that I scratched his back."
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Robert De Niro’s ex-top assistant slams actor for abusive behavior with ‘creepy’ back-scratching requests. (Getty Images)
After she mentioned that he had asked her to scratch his back on multiple occasions, Robinson recalled De Niro saying, "I like the way that you do it."
She added she found the alleged abusive behavior "creepy" and "disgusting."
Robinson, who worked for De Niro for 11 years until 2019, and the 80-year-old "Flowers of the Killer Moon" star are in court over the assistant's civil lawsuit accusing the Oscar winner of gender discrimination during her employment at his production company, Canal Productions.
Robinson has alleged that the actor was repeatedly "screaming and yelling" at her in addition to overworking and underpaying her, in a $12 million lawsuit. She noted her attempts to leave his company multiple times. De Niro is also suing Robinson, accusing her of charging personal expenses to his company.
"Bob was incredibly angry. At one point, I just sort of broke down into tears, and I had to go into another room to compose myself, the way that he was screaming and yelling and cursing at me about wanting to leave him," Robinson continued.
Actor Robert De Niro arrives to court in New York, Tuesday, October 31, 2023. De Niro continues his testimony in a $12 million lawsuit. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"At one point, he said that if I left him without giving him what he thought was two-year notice, that he would give me a bad recommendation."
During the fifth day of De Niro’s testimony, Robinson became emotional several times as she claimed that the trauma she endured before she quit working for De Niro had left her jobless and depressed.
"I was having an emotional and mental breakdown. I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t sleeping. Couldn’t run. I was overwhelmed," she remarked. "I felt like I hit rock bottom."
Sketch of Robert De Niro in the witness box in court. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
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Robinson said she has suffered from anxiety and depression and hasn't worked in four years despite applying for 638 jobs.
Meanwhile, she additionally claimed that De Niro called her a "b--ch" after she was allegedly hospitalized.
Graham Chase Robinson departs federal court on October 30, 2023, in New York City. (Getty Images)
Robinson went on to explain the situation after she allegedly went to the emergency room after a fire had potentially broken out at De Niro’s townhouse.
"I had run into Bob's townhouse when there was a possible fire, and dealt with the situation where I ended up in the emergency room, because my name was listed as the emergency contact for ADT," she began. "Bob had requested that. I ended up in the emergency room, and a couple days later, I tried to discuss with him taking my name off of the ADT."
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"He said that I was complaining and that he didn't want to hear it. And I was just trying to facilitate having somebody else's name and number on the ADT system. He hung up, he called back, he berated me more, and he just said that I was acting like a little b--ch. And I hung up."
Robinson also accused the actor of using derogatory terms on several other instances when he was "drinking pretty heavily" and got "frustrated."
Reps for De Niro told Fox News Digital that no statements are being issued at this time.
Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an Entertainment Writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
