‘Who The F--- Does She Think She Is’: Robert De Niro’s Text to GF Trashing Ex-Assistant Exposed in $12 Million War
Oct. 20 2023, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Robert De Niro’s private texts to his girlfriend Tiffany Chen are being used as evidence in the actor’s $12 million court war with his ex-assistant.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, De Niro’s former employee Graham Robinson accused the Hollywood star, Chen, and his team of plotting to ruin her after she resigned from her role at his company.
Robinson started working as an assistant for De Niro in 2008. She worked her way up to VP of Production of his company Canal Productions before resigning in 2019.
Months later, De Niro filed a bombshell $6 million lawsuit against Robinson. The complaint accused the ex-employee of using the company credit card for personal expenses including Pilates classes, expensive dinners, and flower deliveries at her home, binge-watching Netflix while on the clock, and transferring 7 million airline miles from the company to herself for personal use.
De Niro said the airline miles were worth an estimated $300k.
Robinson denied all allegations of wrongdoing. She claimed De Niro and his team had approved of all expenses she made. She said they also knew about her using the airline miles.
In response, Robinson filed a $12 million lawsuit against De Niro and his company. She accused the Casino star of being a horrible boss who forced her to work in a toxic environment.
Her lawsuit accused the defendants of gender discrimination. She said her boss paid a male employee more than her despite him having fewer responsibilities. Robinson earned $300k per year before she left.
In court documents, Robinson said De Niro also talked to her on the phone while urinating, called her a “b----,” and yelled at her in front of other employees.
The Hollywood star’s lawyer countered Robinson’s allegations. He said, “In regard to her accusation that he demeaned her and other women in the office, he said no “evidence supports this statement. Despite tens of thousands of pages of documents, emails, text messages and testimony, the only support for Ms. Robinson’s claim that Mr. De Niro ever referred to her as a “b---” is her own rehearsed deposition testimony.”
Robinson claimed that De Niro bought his lawsuit to “humiliate” her after finding out she planned to sue him.
Now, in a newly filed motion, Robinson has demanded De Niro not be allowed to use seek damages for the airline miles. She argued he failed to provide the proper evidence to support his claim for damages.
In addition, she also asked that De Niro’s text and emails be entered as evidence. She claimed they show he had motive to make up lies about her.
Robinson said she plans to tell the jury that De Niro were “enraged” after finding out she was hiring a lawyer to bring claims against him. She said he decided to manufacture claims against her in an attempt to “ruin her” and “beat her to the punch” in court.
The ex-assistant said the evidence shows De Niro’s anger when Robinson threatened legal action. She said the texts and emails also show De Niro’s girlfriend “scheming” and another De Niro employee being instructed to “come up with all the “crazy chase s---” he could, and multiple Canal employees who investigated Ms. Robinson acknowledging that the goal was to “ruin” and humiliate” her.”
Robinson said she emailed De Niro and the company’s lawyer Tom Harvey, the actor’s girlfriend Chen text De Niro after seeing the email.
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She told De Niro that Robinson was “threatening legal actions.” The actor responded, “Can you believe Chase. As I said to [Tom]: who the fuck does she think she is?!?!?!”
He added, “The balls, the nerve, the chutzpah, the sense of entitlement, how dare her!”
Chen replied, “Tom [Harvey] will get her.”
Other emails she obtained show Canal employees texting that the company was “trying to beat Robinson to the punch” with its own lawsuit.
Both parties continue to prepare for trial.
