NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Actor Robert De Niro has been sued by a former employee citing gender discrimination and harassment. She is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, liquidated damages, and punitive damages.
In her lawsuit, Graham Chase Robinson, De Niro’s former assistant claims that the actor subjected her to sexually-charged comments, and unwanted physical contact. She also accused him of wage discrimination. The lawsuit says that De Niro made jokes about his Viagra prescription and asked her to do supposedly stereotypical female duties, such as cleaning his apartment and mending his clothes.
Chase was employed by De Niro from 2008 to 2019. In that time, Chase says that De Niro was also verbally abusive. She has saved voicemails that support her claims, one of which she has released to the press, in which at one point De Niro called her a “spoiled brat.”
Chase attempted quit on multiple occasions, but De Niro allegedly made promises that her working conditions would improve.
Previously in August, De Niro filed his own complaint against Chase. The suit alleges that she charged hundreds of dollars of personal expenses on the company credit card, submitted false information to be paid for vacation days she used, converted millions of Canal’s (De Niro’s production company) frequent flier miles for her personal use and binge-watched Netflix shows during work.
Carney Shegerian, the founder of Los Angeles-based employee rights law firm Shegerian & Associates, has weighed in on the suit.
“No matter the employer’s status, the employee has the right to be treated fairly and with respect,” he said.
About Shegerian & Associates:
Shegerian & Associates has won clients over $300 million in employment-based disputes and maintains a 98% success rate. We have offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and New York.
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SOURCE Shegerian & Associates