The mother of Robert De Niro’s youngest child has accused his longtime assistant of secretly being in love with the actor, according to newly unveiled court records.
A full 158 pages, the summary judgment ruling provides much-needed insight on the messy legal battle between De Niro, 79, and nixed Graham Chase Robinson, 37, both of whom filed suits against one another in 2019.
The dueling cases stem from Robinson’s acrimonious departure from De Niro’s stable back in 2019, shortly after his split from wife Grace Hightower.
At the time, the storied star was shacked up in Manhattan with a new flame, 45-year-old Tiffany Chen – a martial arts practitioner who De Niro met while filming 2015’s The Intern, and who gave birth the star’s seventh child, a girl, this past April.
In the film, Chen played a Tai Chi instructor. In these new documents, she weighed in on her partner’s $6million dispute, painting Robinson ‘as a territorial figure who didn’t play nice with others’ who possibly was in love with the actor.
Martial arts expert Tiffany Chen, the mother of Robert De Niro’s latest child – has accused his ex- assistant of secretly being in love with the actor in a newly unveiled case summary
The 158-page summary judgment ruling provides insight on the messy legal battle between the actor and nixed assistant Graham Chase Robinson (pictured), who left her position in 2019
Initially sealed but unveiled by Puck Monday, the document details not only Robinson’s deteriorating relationship with De Niro, but an alleged feud with Chen as well.
It reportedly contains depositions, emails, texts, and audio recordings that offer an account of the events that predated De Niro’s filing of a $6million lawsuit against Robinson – one that accused her of abusing company credit cards and stealing 5million frequent-flier miles after resigning.
The lawsuit also alleges she binge-watched shows such as ‘Friends,’ ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ while on the clock at De Niro’s opulent New York townhouse.
Robinson responded the same year with her own lawsuit in federal court, alleging she was regularly subject to gender discrimination over the course of her 11 years of employment at De Niro’s company, Canal Productions.
In it, she claimed she was treated like De Niro’s ‘office wife,’ forced to heed his beck and call and perform menial duties like scratching his back, buttoning his shirts, prodding him awake in his hotel room, and regularly doing laundry and cleaning.
A portion of the suit read: ‘Robert De Niro is someone who has clung to old mores. 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.’
The documents obtained by Puck, meanwhile, depicts some of the tension that surfaced between Chen and Robinson, as the former began to suspect the latter of moving in on her beau.
In the new documents, Chen weighed in on her partner’s $6million dispute, painting Robinson ‘as a territorial figure who didn’t play nice with others’ who possibly was in love with her beau
The lawsuit also alleges she binge-watched shows such as ‘Friends,’ ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ while working k at De Niro’s New York townhouse on the Upper East Side
Chen – a martial arts practitioner who met De Niro while filming 2015’s The Intern (pictured) – who gave birth the star’s seventh child, a girl, this past April
The baby girl was born weighing 8 lbs., 6 oz. this past April, and is seen in this photo posted to social media by the actor
According to one text message chain cited by Puck, Chen aired her suspicions to another employee, after which Robinson found herself stripped of several responsibilities at De Niro’s apartment.
In the message, Chen reportedly shared her dissatisfaction with Robinson, telling the unnamed Canal staffer how the situation had become ‘very “single white female”‘ – referencing the 1992 Bridget Fonda film of the same name.
Eventually, Puck reports, Robinson used a colleague’s email account to confirm suspicions that Chen was behind her apparent demotion – which reportedly revoked her of the duties that required her being inside De Niro’s home.
The move – labeled the ‘the final straw’ in Robinson’s court filing – led to her resignation, something she pondered the year before, according to Puck.
That said, after airing that desire to De Niro, the actor – then in the midst of his contentious divorce – increased her salary to $300,000 in a bid to keep her on, an amount Puck reported was enough to temporarily stall her desire to move on.
After her resignation, De Niro’s lawyers got involved, Puck reports – with attorney Tom Harvey launching an internal probe that uncovered Robinson’s alleged email hack.
Citing messages contained in the document, Puck reported that when De Niro asked Chen about the need to work out severance for Robinson, Chen responded that the money should be used instead ‘for the therapy everyone needs… as a result of her’
According to the judgment obtained by Puck, both cares are now set to be heard by a Manhattan jury in late October
The internal investigation reportedly also resulted in the discovery that Robinson transferred five million Delta SkyMiles belonging to De Niro’s company into her personal account – marking the start of a lengthy legal battle involving her exit.
At the time, Robinson – who began working for De Niro at age 25 back in 2008 – was seeking severance to the tune of two years of her annual $300,000 salary, as well as continued health coverage and a letter of recommendation.
Citing messages contained in the document, Puck reported that when De Niro asked Chen about the need to work out severance for Robinson, she responded that the money should be used instead ‘for the therapy everyone needs… as a result of her.’
When De Niro caught wind that Robinson was enlisting a lawyer to possibly take legal action, Puck reported that Chen texted De Niro to again attest her belief that Robinson’s actions were similar that of a jilted lover.
‘She thought she was your wife,’ the martial artist wrote. ‘I saw it from the beginning. I told you.’
To that, the Taxi Driver star reportedly texted back: ‘The balls, the nerve, the chutzpah, the sense of entitlement: how dare her!’
Both sides would them scramble to sue each other, with De Niro striking first with his complaint in state court, alleging Robinson cleaned him out for roughly $300,000 in frequent flyer miles, and used a Canal Productions card to pay for personal expenses like Pilates, dog-sitting and hotel rooms.
Attorneys for the actor also claimed she used the company’s American Express card to pay for things like food, flowers, cameras, iPhones, Uber trips, groceries and dry cleaning, and regularly ‘helped’ herself to petty cash.
The suit said Robinson of converted more than 7million Delta SkyMiles over a two-year period, using 3million for personal travel before transferring an additional $4.5million to a personal account.
When Robinson brought forth her own suit alleging gender discrimination, the parties found themselves in another lengthy squabble – this time over whose case could proceed first.
According to the judgment obtained by Puck, both are now set to be heard by a Manhattan jury in late October.
Robinson’s lawsuit is demanding at least $12 million damages, double what her former boss has demanded.
In January court documents obtained by Radar Online, De Niro elaborated on his claims with a 2019 letter from his lawyer to Robinson – who had worked her way up from personal assistant to Vice President of Production and Finance.
‘I was asked to respond to your recent emails addressed to Bob. Please note that Bob does not wish to communicate with you. As such, please direct correspondence regarding this matter to me,’ the letter states.
The letter also claimed Robinson improperly used Canal’s credit cards to pay for taxis and cover her food costs while on vacation in London.
Robinson denied she improperly used the credit cards – and in her own filing, called into question whether she made all the purchases mentioned.
In those documents, she alleged the actor forced her to endure a toxic workplace where he branded her a ‘b**ch’ and spoke to her in a ‘hostile, abusive and intimidating manner.’
But in a 2012 voicemail leaked last year, De Niro can be heard shouting at Robinson, calling her a ‘spoiled brat,’ saying ‘how dare you f***ing disrespect me,’ and threatening her, saying ‘you’re f***ing history.’
She claims such behavior wasn’t unusual for De Niro.
‘It was a routine occurrence for Mr. De Niro, when intoxicated, to call Ms. Robinson – to call her names, to berate her, to curse at her,’ her lawyer Alexandra Harwin told Fox Business in January 2020.
Harwin also alleged that Robinson ‘was asked to do things that her male colleagues were never asked to do, like scratch Mr. De Niro’s back, button his buttons, [and] tie his ties.’
The lawsuit also states that she was directed to wake him when he was in bed and imagine him on the toilet.
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