On Thursday, a jury in Manhattan ruled that actor Robert De Niro’s production company, Canal Productions, was guilty of gender discrimination and retaliation. This verdict came in a civil case involving a workplace dispute with De Niro’s ex-assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. Robinson, who began working as De Niro’s executive assistant in 2008 and later became vice president of his company before leaving in 2019, received $1.264 million in damages for both charges, as confirmed by her lawyer to CNN.
The jury also examined accusations by Canal Productions against Robinson for alleged misuse of company resources, initially filed in state court. However, they found Robinson not responsible for these allegations.
Robinson’s attorney, David Sanford, expressed satisfaction with the verdict, highlighting that not only did Robinson win her case against Canal Productions, but the jury also fully cleared her of De Niro’s claims against her. The jury, however, did not hold De Niro personally responsible for the gender discrimination and retaliation charges.
Outside the courtroom, Richard C. Schoenstein, De Niro and Canal Productions’ lawyer, mentioned that De Niro was not found liable, but it was unclear if Canal Productions would appeal the decision.
Robinson had sought a minimum of $12 million in damages for claimed emotional distress and damage to her reputation from De Niro and Canal Productions. She accused De Niro of gender discrimination, alleging he referred to her as an “office wife” and assigned her menial tasks such as laundry, sewing, and back-scratching.
Robinson’s complaint stated that De Niro and Canal Productions subjected her to years of gender discrimination and harassment, leading her to resign due to the intolerable work environment.
In response, Canal Productions filed a complaint in 2019 accusing Robinson of misusing company funds, including binge-watching TV during work hours, transferring over $450,000 in airline miles to her account, and charging personal expenses to the company. Robinson refuted these allegations in her lawsuit.
Despite Canal Productions seeking reimbursement for three years of her salary and other damages, the jury cleared Robinson of these claims on Thursday.
Last week, De Niro testified, dismissing Robinson’s allegations as baseless and admitting he asked her to scratch his back a couple of times, but insisted it was neither lewd nor disrespectful.
