No A-Lister has really made it unless they have been sued by – and have counter-sued – a personal assistant. Yes, the stars can win all the Oscars they want, but what fans really want from them are revelations about their spoilt daily behaviour at home, which court room battles with their disgruntled PAs gleefully provide.
Robert De Niro is the latest star to go through this Hollywood rite-of-passage: he and his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson are suing each other a civil trial in New York. For fans of celebrity drama, De Niro is providing plenty by losing his cool in true Goodfellas fashion, shouting “shame on you, Chase Robinson!” in the court room.
For connoisseurs of spoilt celebrity behaviour, details like him admitting that he asked Robinson to scratch his back – “Okay, twice! You got me!” De Niro grumbled – him asking her to organise an Uber to deliver him a martini from Nobu late at night – “Might have been,” he shrugged – and the time she was at a family funeral (De Niro claims he didn’t know she was there) when he called her twice because he wanted her to buy his teenage son a bus ticket.
De Niro is hardly the first to have his personal life and behaviour exposed in this way. Here are some other notable instances:
Lady Gaga
Sued by PA Jennifer O’Neill in 2011, for unpaid overtime. Before the case was settled out of court, details from the lawsuit included O’Neill having to frequently sleep in the same bed as Gaga to address her needs throughout the night and “because she didn’t sleep alone.” O’Neil claimed, “In the middle of the night, she would wake me up to change the DVD in the DVD player because she didn’t want to watch that DVD any more and she couldn’t get up to walk across the room to change the DVD herself.” In a deposition, Gaga called O’Neill, “a f-ing hood rat who is suing me for money she didn’t earn.”
Naomi Campbell
The supermodel has famously had a somewhat difficult history with personal assistants, notably to do with phone-related violence. In 2000 she pleaded guilty to assaulting her PA Georgina Galanis in a Toronto hotel room, when, upset by delays at the airport, Campbell first grabbed Galanis by the throat then hit her over the head with a phone until she escaped, bleeding (Campbell was given an absolute discharge after a plea and settled out of court in the civil case). In 2005, yet another personal assistant, Amanda Brack, alleged that she hit her with a BlackBerry after a piece of luggage was left behind during a trip to Brazil (they settled out of court). Then in 2007 she was sentenced to five days community service for assaulting her New York maid, who needed stitches after Campbell threw a, yes, crystal-encrusted phone, at her head. “I did not intend to hit her…I am deeply sorry,” she told the judge.
Lil' Wayne
Being sued by his PA who claims the rapper punched him on his private jet in 2022. In a wrongful dismissal lawsuit last year, Andrew Williams says he intervened on the plane after Lil’ Wayne started arguing with the pilot. Williams stood between them and that’s when he was struck in the face by “a closed fist and the numerous rings and large jewellery.” Weezy’s team denied any wrongdoing and claims he acted out of self-defence, though they failed to dismiss the lawsuit and Williams is set to undergo a medical exam as the case continues.
Mariah Carey
Lianna Shakhazaryan sued Carey in 2019 for a litany of allegations including physical assault, wrongful termination, sexual battery and harassment, while in her employ. She claimed Mariah’s ex-manager, Stella Bulochnikov, abused her by “slapping buttocks and breasts”, was called “an Armenian whore” and was “urinated upon in the presence of others on multiple occasions.” Shakhazaryan claimed Carey witnessed the acts and did nothing to stop them. Carey also submitted a lawsuit against Shakhazaryan for violating a non-disclosure agreement and for blackmailing her with secretly recorded videos. The judge sanctioned the former assistant for destroying evidence in the first case, which appears to be ongoing, and Carey’s lawsuit was settled out of court.
Khloe Kardashian
Being sued by her former assistant for unlawful termination since February this year. Matthew Manhard filed a lawsuit against the Kardashian for firing him after he returned to work after a knee injury. He alleged that she gave him too many tasks that didn’t allow him to take his legally required breaks, and didn’t pay him overtime. Kardashian denied all claims and allegations, saying the assistant was on an extended leave of absence and had to be replaced. A legal rep for Kardashian said, “Matthew was properly classified and compensated for his role…we will not tolerate false accusations and will prove that this is a frivolous lawsuit.” The case is ongoing.
