- Robert De Niro's former assistant has sued the star, claiming he created a hostile work environment.
- The assistant's mother took the stand Tuesday, saying her daughter suffered physically while working for De Niro.
The mother of Robert De Niro's ex-personal assistant testified Tuesday in a $12 million in a federal discrimination claim against the actor.
Graham Chase Robinson, 41, worked for De Niro's Canal Productions for 11 years and claimed he was an abusive boss who oversaw instances of gender discrimination.
The former assistant's mother, Andrea Robinson, took the witness stand in the Manhattan federal court and testified that her daughter lived with her on and off from 2017 to 2019 when she left Canal.
"She was always working," Andrea Robinson said, getting work calls starting at 6:30 in the morning to 11 p.m. — sometimes even 2 a.m.
The mom told the jury that during the final years that her daughter worked with the "Taxi Driver" star Chase Robinson was "stressed, tearful, not eating, very, very upset and she was withdrawn."
After Chase Robinson quit Canal Productions, the mother saw her daughter's condition worsen.
"Total stress," she said. "She was very upset. She was more tearful than I had ever seen her. She was skeletal because she wasn't eating. She was in terrible shape. I was worried about a mental breakdown."
The elder Robinson testified that her daughter became a shut-in.
"She was afraid to go out," she said. "She didn't go out much. She didn't see friends. She was very scared, frightened and she felt unsafe."
Dr. Robert L. Goldstein, a psychiatrist, testified earlier Tuesday as an expert witness that the ex-assistant suffered from insomnia, IBS, and GERD from "generalized anxiety disorder."
Chase Robinson said during her testimony Tuesday that De Niro relegated her to "demeaning" tasks that were stereotypically given to women — like washing his bedsheets, going jewelry shopping, and researching private schools for his child.
Chase Robinson claims emotional suffering as part of the damages in the case.
Lawyers for De Niro sought to undermine that claim by pointing out that she traveled widely after she left his employ to to Los Angeles, Scotland and Barcelona.
De Niro has countersued Chase Robinson, claiming she spent company money on personal expenses such as personal Ubers.