Robert De Niro’s girlfriend calls star’s former aide ‘psychotic single white female’ in discrimination trial
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — The discrimination trial between Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and his personal assistant continued today with name calling by the star’s girlfriend against the aide.
Taking the stand on yesterday, Tiffany Chen called the assistant Graham Chase Robinson psychotic and had an ‘imaginary intimacy’ with the Oscar winner, Daily Mail reported.
The 80-year-old De Niro is being sued by Robinson for alleged gender discrimination while working at his company Canal Productions between 2008 and 2019.
Her US$12 million (RM56.8 million) lawsuit was filed four years ago, shortly after De Niro sued the 41-year-old for misuse of the company’s accounts.
As the trial entered its fourth day on Thursday, Chen, 45, admitted that she pressured De Niro to remove Robinson after their relationship soured over issues including catering on his private jet and renovations at their Manhattan townhouse.
Her testimony came after a number of hostile email and text exchanges between Chen, Robinson and De Niro were shown to the New York City jury earlier, including a 2am email from Chen to the actor saying: ‘If you keep her (Robinson) you and I will have problems’.
Robinson started working for De Niro in 2008 as his assistant, before eventually rising to the position of vice-president in Canal Productions.
The court heard the relationship between De Niro and Robinson deteriorated after De Niro and Chen moved into a new townhouse in 2018, the same year De Niro separated from his then wife Grace Hightower.
The court heard Robinson had a perceived lack of respect towards the couple’s plans, which led to a 2019 text from Chen to De Niro where she said Robinson’s possessive manner over the house made Chen very uncomfortable.
‘Her sense of entitlement stems from this imagined intimacy she has with you,’ the text said, adding that Robinson thought she was his wife and decided to be the lady of the house.
Questioned by lawyers if she thinks Robinson believed she was in a relationship with De Niro, Chen said: ‘I think she knows she’s not but that’s what makes her angry because she’s striving to be.’
‘She definitely thinks she’s in charge of everyone,’ Chen added.
Further texts from Chen appeared to note this disagreement, where she told De Niro: ‘If you keep her, you and I will eventually have problems because you have allowed her to become disrespectful to you and now she’s telling you what she will do and what her job is.’
She also said Robinson had a personality like ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide’, who would flip on a dime around De Niro and ‘confuse the situation.’
Chen felt Robinson’s behaviour towards the couple was because she dreamed of being with the actor, adding: ‘I believed she lived her whole life as a fantasy.’
‘If her fantasies are going to infringe on my personal life... I’m going to make it difficult for her,’ she added.
Chen was also questioned over a row regarding catering on a private jet in early 2019, shortly before Robinson resigned, when she (Chen) and De Niro returned from a holiday in Antigua.
After learning Robinson had specifically asked flight attendants not to serve food on the flight, Chen texted De Niro: ‘I’m concerned that her nasty alter ego will cause serious future problems if she isn’t called out now.’
‘She’s a mean, insecure, territorial girl and her behaviour hasn’t just affected me, she does it to everyone in your life in different ways.’
