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Robert De Niro accused of “creepy and abusive” behaviour by ex-employee in $12 Million Lawsuit

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Robert De Niro accused of “creepy and abusive” behaviour by ex-employee in $12 Million Lawsuit

Robert De Niro, the Oscar-winning actor and director, has been accused of being creepy and aggressive toward a long-term female colleague.

Graham Chase Robinson alleges the actor degraded and humiliated her on a regular basis, including in venomous voicemails in which he raged that her job was “f–king history!” and referred to her as a “spoiled brat.”

Robinson is now suing for at least $12 million in damages, alleging gender discrimination, retaliation, and a violation of the Equal Pay Act.

In August, Mr. De Niro and his production firm filed a lawsuit against Ms Robinson, accusing her of stealing money and frequent flyer miles before abruptly quitting. She maintains, however, that the complaint was initiated in reprisal for her threats to sue the actor.

“Robert De Niro is someone who has clung to old mores. He does not accept the idea that men should treat women as equals,” the suit says.

“He does not care that gender discrimination in the workplace violates the law. Ms Robinson is a casualty of this attitude,” reports the Post.

Robinson, now 37, began working at Canal Productions in 2008 as an executive assistant, but claims she was “forced to resign” in April after ascending to the position of vice president of production and finance.

She further alleges that Mr. De Niro treated her as his “office wife,” forcing her to perform “stereotypically female duties, such as housework,” while underpaying her and refusing her overtime.

Worse, De Niro terrified Robinson with creepy behavior, according to the complaint, including “urinating during telephone calls” with her and greeting her in only his “pajamas or a bathrobe.”

“Among other things, De Niro would direct Ms. Robinson to scratch his back, button his ties and prod him awake when he was in bed,” the complaint adds. “De Niro also stood idly by while his friend slapped Ms Robinson on her buttocks.”

She alleges that the “Taxi Driver” star’s misogynistic behavior extended beyond his encounters with Robinson. He allegedly referred to his senior assistants as “the girls” and called a female business partner a “c–t.”

She alleges the actor verbally abused her, often while inebriated, calling her a “bitch” and a “brat,” among other “vulgar, inappropriate and gendered comments.”

“He would joke with Ms. Robinson about his Viagra prescription. De Niro smirked to Ms. Robinson about his young paramour, who was around Ms. Robinson’s age. De Niro directed Ms. Robinson to imagine him on the toilet. He told Ms. Robinson that doing manual labor would ‘make a man out of you.’ De Niro suggested that Ms. Robinson could get pregnant using sperm from her (married) male co-worker,” the complaint goes on to say.

The lawsuit includes a link to a tape of Mr. De Niro purportedly leaving a nasty message for Ms. Robinson after she didn’t pick up his phone.

“You f–ing don’t answer my calls? How dare you! You’re about to be fired. You’re f–ing history,” he allegedly says.

“This is bulls–t. How dare you f–king disrespect me? You gotta be f–king kidding me, you spoiled brat! F–k you!”

The purported voicemail is used to support the argument that De Niro required Robinson to be “on call” 24/7, which meant she worked longer hours than her male coworkers, putting in 11-hour days with no lunch breaks — yet was paid less, according to the suit. Robinson alleges De Niro “invoked gender-laden stereotypes and implied that a male breadwinner deserved more pay than Ms. Robinson, a woman without children” when she asked equal pay.

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