Robert De Niro’s company was asked to pay more than $1.2 million (£982,000) to his former personal assistant after he was found to have engaged in gender discrimination and retaliation, but jurors found the actor not personally responsible for the abuse.

The judge ordered the famous actor’s company, Canal Productions, to make two payments of $632,143 to his former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson.

De Niro, 80, who spent three days of the two-week trial, including two on the witness stand, has been sued by his former assistant since she resigned in April 2019.

Graham Chase Robinson, 41, said the actor and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, conspired against her to turn a job she once loved into a nightmare.

Robert De Niro and Ms. Chen said his former assistant became “problematic” when her ambitions to move beyond Canal Productions led her to make crazy demands to keep her job.

In two days in court the actor told jurors he increased his former assistant’s salary from $100,000 (£82,000) a year to $300,000 (£245,000) and promoted her to vice president of production and finance at her request. Despite the fact that its responsibilities remained largely the same.

De Niro stated that when Ms. Robinson stole about $85,000 (£70,000) from him and betrayed his trust. The actor also admitted that he had asked her to scratch his back on at least two occasions and that he cursed her.

Graham Chase Robinson

He denied yelling at her, saying he had at most raised his voice in her presence, but never disrespectfully. In fact, the actor during the trial shouted to his former assistant: “Shame on you, Chase Robinson!”

His former assistant said she quit her job during an “emotional and mental breakdown”, which left her devastated and feeling like she had “hit rock bottom”.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

He said he has since suffered from anxiety and depression and has not worked for four years, despite applying for 638 jobs.

“I don’t have a social life,” he said. “I am so humiliated and ashamed. I feel so damaged in a way… I lost my life. I lost my career. I lost my financial independence. I lost everything».