REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Robert De Niro's former executive assistant — who's suing the actor over what she calls a hostile work environment — got a threatening text during the trial, her lawyer alleged in court on Monday.
And her lawyer believes the message came from a member of De Niro's family.
The lawyer for Graham Chase Robinson, the former assistant, told the Manhattan federal court that she got a threatening text over the weekend that read: "You disgusting little beast. You have nothing better to do with your pathetic life than destroy an 80-year-old man's life for money. You piece of S-H-I-T. He lost a grandson only four months ago. Has to deal with a scumbag like you. Sickening. Hopefully you and your family will suffer, like you have made so many suffer."
Attorney Andrew Macurdy said he thinks the text came from one of De Niro's daughters; Robinson's iPhone suggested the contact may have been his daughter when she got the text and when her lawyer googled the phone number, the results "did return back a connection to that individual's social media," he said in court.
"We think this is very serious, particularly given the timing that Ms. Robinson is on the stand," Macurdy said, according to a court transcript.
De Niro's attorney, Richard Schoenstein, said in court that he had "no idea where that comes from" and that he hadn't heard about the text before it came up in trial. Schoenstein said he wouldn't object if the judge asked him to relay instructions to their clients.
Judge Lewis Limon asked Schoenstein to tell De Niro and his production company not to contact Robinson, according to the transcript.
Limon noted that the court got emails that were "very derogatory about Mr. De Niro" earlier in the trial.
"Unfortunately, the case has attracted some attention," Limon said in court on Monday. "But what you've told me is potentially a very serious matter."
Robinson is alleging in her lawsuit that the Oscar-winning actor's production company, Canal Productions, created an environment that was hostile to women.
Robinson accuses De Niro of forcing her to do "work wife" duties and subjecting her to "gratuitous unwanted physical contact."
De Niro, in turn, has countersued her, alleging that Robinson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the company's money on personal expenses, including Ubers and meals.
