Robert De Niro testifies he asked ex-assistant to scratch his back

A bellowing Robert De Niro took center stage again in Manhattan federal court Tuesday as he begrudgingly copped to asking his former personal assistant to scratch his back — before exploding, “You got me!”

The blustery, 80-year-old Oscar winner got defensive on the stand for the second day running as he attempted to rebuff accusations from longtime ex-staffer Graham Chase Robinson, 41, that he was a terrible boss who subjected her to years of unwanted touching, abusive language and demeaning misogynistic tasks.

Asked about an incident where Robinson claims De Niro forced her to scratch his back instead of using a back-scratcher, the “Raging Bull’’ star confessed it likely happened twice — but only when he had an itch in a spot where he couldn’t reach.

“OK, twice? You got me! I’m saying this is nonsense,” fumed De Niro, who was dressed in a dark gray polo shirt and navy blazer.

“It was never done with any disrespect,” the legendary actor continued.

“Shame on you, Chase Robinson!” he shouted at his accuser, who was in court.

At one point, De Niro also admitted it was possible he once asked Robinson to Uber him a martini from the upscale Nobu sushi lounge at 11 p.m.

When asked about calling her twice while she was attending her grandmother’s funeral because he wanted her to buy his teen son a bus ticket, the actor replied, “So?”

De Niro insisted that he was “never abusive” toward Robinson – but conceded he may have called her a “f–king spoiled brat” after he missed an appointment because she didn’t wake him up.

“I could have, too. I was upset,” said. “She didn’t wake me up and made me miss this thing in Malibu.”

De Niro’s lawyer objected in one instance to the questioning his famous client was forced to undergo, claiming “improper impeachment.”

De Niro quipped from the stand, “Impeachment? Am I being impeached?”

When laughter burst out in the courtroom, including from jurors, the actor said, “Had to say it, sorry.’’

His lawyer’s objection was overruled.

The Hollywood A-lister is facing off against Robinson in a civil trial after accusing the once-trusted employee of raiding his Canal Productions company coffers, stealing millions of De Niro’s frequent flyer miles and binge-watching Netflix while on the job.

Their now-long-running legal battle first kicked off when the “Taxi Driver” actor’s production company sued her back in August 2019 — just months after Robinson abruptly resigned after 11 years.

Robinson quickly fired back with her own $12 million suit, accusing the acting legend of subjecting her to sexual harassment and bullying while expecting her to work 24/7 and assume the role of his “office wife.”

One of her lawyers, Andrew Macurdy, who has painted Robinson as a dedicated, loyal employee, told jurors Tuesday that she first tried to quit in November 2018 but that De Niro had threatened to give her a bad reference.

“You’re saying I threatened her? I don’t do that. She worked for me, I treated her with respect,” De Niro fired back on the stand.

Asked if Robinson had been a disloyal employee, De Niro responded: “Disloyal? I don’t know. Whatever. I wanted to get her because she stole stuff from me and I wanted to get it back.

“The whole case is nonsense, it’s ridiculous,” he sniffed. “I wanted my things back, that’s all I’m asking. Return my things, return my air miles. Enough is enough.

“She had taken things from me and not done the right thing. I asked her to return them but she didn’t do the right thing. She asked me for a letter of recommendation, which under no circumstances would I ever, ever, ever sign,” he added.

In one particularly testy exchange, Macurdy accused De Niro and his company of rushing to file the actor’s lawsuit in a bid to smear Robinson after she threatened legal action if the actor didn’t pay her severance demands.

“You wanted to embarrass her,” the lawyer charged, questioning if the star was trying to sully Robinson’s reputation in the press.

De Niro hit back, “I don’t care about the press, I cared about her giving my stuff back and doing the right thing. 

“I didn’t want to ruin her,” he insisted. “I have no control over the press. She’s more press-oriented than I am. She should have thought, ‘I’ll give the air miles back.’ Case closed, done.”

The actor testified that he told his then-assistant she could transfer “1 to 2 million” Delta SkyMiles from the company’s account to her personal one for emergency situations.

He said he trusted her to act in good faith based on “the honor system.

“I wanted her to do it in reason — not take 5 million miles,” De Niro added. 

Robinson, who started working for De Niro in 2008, claims in her suit that she was “forced to resign” from her $300,000-a-year job in April 2019.

In her resignation email, which was read to jurors, Robinson wrote: “Throughout all the years I’ve worked for you, I’ve been loyal, protective (to the point of alienating others), honest and beyond hard-working (80-90 hour weeks).

“I poured my heart and soul into this job and as a result other parts of my life and opportunities were put on hold. You always came first.”

De Niro, in his suit, claims Robinson abruptly quit when “suspicions arose” regarding her “honesty, integrity, work ethic and motivation.”

When asked by his own lawyer, Laurent Drogin, how he felt after receiving Robinson’s resignation, the actor responded, “I was relieved.”