Robert De Niro Accused Of Pay And Gender Discrimination In New Lawsuit From Ex-Assistant

A former employee filed $12 million lawsuit Thursday in New York against actor Robert De Niro, accusing him and his production company of gender discrimination.

The accusation comes from Graham Chase Robinson, who worked as DeNiro's executive assistant at Canal Productions. The suit accuses the 76-year-old actor of gender discrimination and creating a hostile workspace.

The suit claims this attitude manifested itself in sexist language, with De Niro allegedly referring to Robinson as his “office wife” and making inappropriate jokes. Robinson also alleges she was paid less than her male counterparts and her tasks were akin to “housework.”

The lawsuit included a profanity laced voicemail on which De Niro allegedly screams at Robinson.

"Robert De Niro is someone who has clung to old mores,” the lawsuit says. “He does not accept the idea that men should treat women as equals. He does not care that gender discrimination in the workplace violates the law. Ms. Robinson is a casualty of this attitude.”

Robinson’s lawsuit comes follows a $6 million lawsuit filed by De Niro and Canal Productions in August, accusing her of embezzlement by charging personal expenses to her company credit card. She was also accused of ignoring work to watch Netflix, with a story of her allegedly watching more than 50 episodes of “Friends” in January going viral.

However, Robinson alleges the suit was filed pre-emptively after she put in her resignation in April and asked her lawyer to notify De Niro’s legal team she was considering a lawsuit.

“In response, De Niro took a page out of the Bill O’Reilly playbook,” Robinson’s lawsuit said. “Before Ms. Robinson could sue, De Niro retaliated.”

The lawsuit comes the same week as the release of “Joker” in which De Niro plays a talk show host in Gotham City who is key to Arthur Fleck’s transformation into “clown prince of crime.” He also stars in the crime film, “The Irishman,” which is to be released next month and reunites De Niro with Martin Scorsese for the first time since 1995’s “Casino.”