Robert De Niro Sues Ex Employee for $6m After She Binged 55 Episodes of 'Friends' at Work

Robert De Niro's film production company has filed a $6 million lawsuit against a former employee after she reportedly watched 55 episodes of "Friends" at work in a four day period.

However, that's not all the former Canal Productions employee, named Chase Robinson, is being accused of.

Robinson, who was first hired as an assistant to the Oscar-winning actor in 2018, is accused of embezzling money, charging hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of personal expenses on the company card, using millions of De Niro's frequent flyer miles, and binge-watching Netflix at work for "astronomical amounts of time," according to the lawsuit, per Variety.

Besides for "Friends," Robinson allegedly also watched 20 episodes of "Arrested Development" and 10 episodes of "Schitt's Creek" over another four-day period in March.

The suit also alleges that Robinson racked up $12,696.65 in unauthorized charges at NYC restaurant Paola's over a two-year period, as well as $8,923.20 at Dean and Deluca and Whole Foods and a whopping $32,000 for personal Uber and taxi rides. She is also accused of expensing personal items such as iPhones, a luxury handbag and a dog sitter.

After being De Niro's assistant, Robinson was promoted to "vice president of production and finance" in 2017 but left the company in April amid growing concerns about alleged "corporate sabotage," the suit states.

In her resignation email, Robinson reportedly called all the concerns, including her spending, "ridiculous," according to Variety. When she later drafted a recommendation letter for herself, De Niro refused to sign it, the lawsuit claims.

"Robinson's position required Mr. De Niro to place full faith, trust and confidence in her that she would carry out her duties and responsibilities in Canal's best interests, mindfully overseeing the finances and other employees," the suit states, per Newsweek.

It adds, "Watching shows on Netflix was not in any way part of or related to the duties and responsibilities of Robinson's employment and, on information and belief, was done for her personal entertainment, amusement and pleasure at times when she was being paid to work."

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