Robert De Niro’s former assistant has received a text message calling her a “disgusting little animal” – which her lawyer claims could have been sent by one of the star’s children.
Graham’s attorney Chase Robinson said the text was sent last night and read aloud in Manhattan Federal Court Monday morning before jurors were brought in.
He said, ‘You disgusting little animal. You have nothing better to do with your pathetic life than destroy the life of an 80 year old man…
“Hopefully you and your family will suffer as you have made others suffer.”
Robinson, 41, was also branded a “bastard” in the insulting screed, which a week later landed in a sensational civil lawsuit that made global headlines.
Graham Chase Robinson arrives in Manhattan federal court on Monday. Before the jurors were seated, her lawyer told the court that she had received an abusive text message shortly before the hearing began – and suggested it may have been sent by one of her former employer Robert De Niro’s children.
The lawyer speaking on behalf of Robinson, who is suing De Niro for gender discrimination, said the text message came from an unknown number.
But he flagged an iPhone feature showing a possible identity of an unknown sender – and said the suggested name was that of one of De Niro’s children.
The suspected sender was not named. De Niro has seven children by four women.
De Niro’s lawyer Richard Schoenstein said his team had “no idea” where the text came from.
He added: ‘We will certainly instruct our clients not to contact the claimant.’
Judge Lewis J Limon took no further action on the allegations in the text. He said: ‘Previously we have received a number of emails that were very derogatory about Mr De Niro… unfortunately this matter has attracted a lot of attention.’
The Taxi Driver star was not in court to hear that one of his descendants had been accused of abusing Robinson. DailyMail.com has contacted its representative for comment.
Monday’s shocking revelation came before the eight jurors hearing the civil case were seated to watch Robinson’s cross-examination proceed.
The photo shows De Niro leaving the court last Thursday. Robinson, his former executive assistant, has sued him for $12 million for sexual discrimination and retaliation. He denies these allegations and has sued Robinson for $6 million
De Niro flew into a rage at Robinson in the stands last week, shouting “Shame on you” despite denying he ever shouted at her
She is suing De Niro for $12 million, claiming he was a creepy boss who let her scratch his back and berated her.
De Niro denies the allegations and has filed a $6 million countersuit alleging theft of five million airline miles and alleged breach of loyalty.
Last week, De Niro denied he was an abusive boss, but moments later shouted at Robinson across the court, shouting, “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”
The actor subsequently apologized.
Robinson worked for De Niro’s film company Canal Productions and acted as a fixer for the star.
She began working for Canal in 2008, after starting as an executive assistant with a salary of $75,000 but eventually rising to vice president of production and finance, with a salary of $300,000 at the time of her departure in April 2019 .
During Monday’s hearing, the court was told of other benefits Robinson enjoyed, including $15,000 bonuses, lavish Christmas and birthday gifts.
Robinson had 23 days of annual leave and was also off when Canal’s New York office was closed, as well as paid sick leave.
De Niro’s attorney Schoenstein showed receipts from the eight jurors detailing how Robinson transferred 999,000 airline miles from the actor to her own account on four separate occasions between January and March 2019.
De Niro is pictured in Manhattan on November 3. Robinson’s case against him continues
She is said to have used those four million miles – and another million that are unspecified – on trips to London, Glasgow, Spain, Los Angeles and New York, mainly in business class.
Schoenstein told Robinson she could only use the miles for work travel, but she replied, “That’s not right.”
Robinson claimed that the free travel expenses were “compensation” under the verbally agreed terms of employment.
On Friday, she broke down in tears as she recalled the “creepy” and “disgusting” moment the Hollywood icon asked her to scratch his back.
Robinson says the request made her feel “physically uncomfortable” and claims De Niro asked her to rub him because he preferred “the way you do it.”
De Niro has admitted asking Robinson to scratch his back “once or twice” but insists the request was never made with “any disrespect.”
Robinson also detailed alleged verbal abuse, claiming that De Niro called her a “bitch” two or three times and that he regularly berated her in a “hurtful” and “demeaning” manner.
The actor was sufficiently outraged by the accusations to launch a countersuit.
The case continues.