Robert De Niro has lost his temper in court, as his former assistant accused him of being abusive.
The Oscar-winning actor is being sued by Graham Chase Robinson, who worked as his assistant from 2008 until several months into 2019, for millions of dollars after claiming he was abusive when they worked together.
Robinson, 41, seeks $US12 million (approximately AUD$18 million) in damages for emotional distress and harm to her reputation, that she claims has left her jobless and unable to recover from the trauma of working for De Niro.
The jury is also considering evidence pertaining to a lawsuit De Niro filed against Robinson in which he claimed that she stole things from him, including five million points that could be used for airline flights.
De Niro is countersuing his former employee, seeking the return of three years of Robinson’s salary.
Robinson’s attorney Andrew Macurdy interrogated the actor over some of his questionable behaviour, including allegations that he spoke to Robinson while he was urinating, and claims that he called her a “b***h” to her face.
De Niro admitted that while he “got angry” at his former assistant, he was “never abusive”.
Growing frustrated with the line of questioning, he exclaimed, “You got us all here for this?”
Eventually, he angrily looked toward Robinson and shouted, “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”
De Niro was also asked by Macurdy if he he sued Robinson before she sued him because he wanted publicity.
“It draws attention to me. It’s the last thing I wanted to do,” De Niro said.
Image credits: Getty Images
