AceShowbiz - Robert De Niro's former employee Graham Chase Robinson is seeking to have a lawsuit filed against her by "The Irishman" actor dismissed.

De Niro and his production company partners at Canal Productions sued Robinson in August for allegedly bilking them of over $3 million (£2.5 million) and spending the cash on trips and dog sitters.

In legal documents, filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, Robinson, who rose up through the company after starting out as the movie star's personal assistant, was also accused of watching hours and hours of Netflix films and shows at work.

But in a motion filed by her attorney, Robinson has requested that the lawsuit be dismissed, claiming De Niro "filed suit first in retaliation after learning that she was pursuing legal action". Robinson sued De Niro in October, accusing him of making hateful and "sexually-charged comments", talking to her while he urinated and gender discrimination, among other things.

As for the claims about her watching Netflix at work, Robinson's attorneys have asked the court to strike these allegations from the record.

"These inflammatory accusations are scandalous and prejudicial - so much so that they 'went viral'," they said in the motion, obtained by Variety. "The allegations are also irrelevant to Canal’s claims: there is no case law holding that purportedly watching television during work gives rise to liability under any of the legal theories Canal advances."

De Niro was seeking $6 million (£4.5 million) in damages from Robinson, which her attorneys added should also be stricken for being "excessive". She, meanwhile, asked for $12 million (£9 million) in damages from the actor when filing her lawsuit for gender discrimination, harassment, back pay and labour law violations.

The 76-year-old actor has yet to respond to the latest development in the case. However, his lawyer Tom Harvey previously stated that Robinson's allegations about De Niro are "beyond absurd".