Robert De Niro took the stand for the second time Tuesday in his New York City civil case against his former executive assistant and admitted to raising his voice at her while calling her names.
When Graham Chase Robinson’s attorney, Andrew Macurdy, asked the 80-year-old actor if he yelled at her when she didn’t wake him up in time for an important meeting, he said that he “berated her,” per People.
Furthermore, he conceded that he likely called her “petulant,” “snippy” and a “f–king spoiled brat.”
However, he denied actually yelling at Robinson.
“I’ve raised my voice,” De Niro confirmed. “I don’t yell. You wanna dispute that? That’s one thing I don’t do.”
De Niro raised his voice several times throughout his testimony, including one instance in which he called his former assistant out after he was accused of not paying her fairly compared to another male employee.
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“Every little thing she’s trying to get me on is nonsense!” he exclaimed. “Shame on you, Chase Robinson.”
He dismissed other accusations of being discriminatory based on gender as “ridiculous.”
The “Meet the Fockers” star also confirmed his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, “might have been saying” disrespectful things about Robinson, but he implied it was acceptable because Robinson was being disrespectful first.
The Oscar winner’s legal battle with Robinson began in August 2019 when his production company, Canal Productions, sued her for millions after she allegedly misused funds for personal expenses.
The company accused her of spending tens of thousands of dollars on the company’s American Express card and approving fake business trips that she used to pay for her social life, such as a friend’s birthday party in Los Angeles that racked up a $5,000 bill.
Robinson was also accused of personally using about $125,000 worth of frequent flyer miles, charging $32,000 worth of personal Uber and taxi rides, $8,923 in groceries, and $3,000 at a New York City florist, which included a $1,311 arrangement for her birthday.
Robinson began working at the company in 2008 and acted as the Vice President of Production & Finance before she abruptly left the company in April 2019.
Her senior role allowed her to approve such grand expenses without approval from anyone else.
Robinson handed Canal Productions a $12 million lawsuit in return for workplace and sexual harassment, plus sexism.
