Robert De Niro And The Uber Martini: Bad Look Or The Ultimate Rich Guy Move?

Robert De Niro — star of classic movies like Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, and Goodfellas, but also some real hunks of crap too — is in the midst of a civil trial between himself and a former assistant.

The assistant accuses De Niro of fostering a hostile environment at his production company, Canal Productions. However, De Niro countered that the former assistant used company cards to pay for hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.

According to Robb Report, during De Niro's testimony, there were some questions about when it was appropriate to use company cards to pay for Uber rides. It was then that the legendary actor admitted to having once had an Uber deliver him a martini from Nobu, the restaurant he co-owns.

“One time, you really wanted a particular Martini at Nobu, and you asked her to deliver it for you, yes?” that assistant's attorney asked.

“That would have been one time,” the acting great said. “That’s different.”

Interesting. Interesting indeed.

De Niro's Uber-Tini Is A Fascinating Move

Upon hearing this stunning courtroom revelation, I didn't know what to think. Was this a bad look for a De Niro? An example of his own flagrant use of a company card, or was it the ultimate rich guy move?

After giving it some thought, I'm inclined to think it was the latter.

Sure, in a case with talk of misusing company cards, this is less than ideal. De Niro getting some booze shuttled to him doesn't sound great. However, it's his company, ergo, his company cards.

It still doesn't look great. But hey, who's to raise an eyebrow at how he spends his money (aside from his frequent support of left-wing politicians)?

The part I'm hung up on is the part about De Niro Ubering the martini from the restaurant he owns.

If he owns the place, couldn't he have a bartender swing by and mix him up a beverage? All he'd need to do is call the manager.

"Hey, we need to swing by Bob's place (That's what people who know him call him; Bob). He wants one of those special martinis we make here at Nobu... yeah, I know he could just have it delivered by an Uber driver, sorry."

They wouldn't say no to that.

I wish we had a few more details about this. It's not clear if this was delivered by an Uber Eats driver or a regular Uber. The kind that gets lost while trying to drop you off at the airport. I really hope it's the latter.

I've got to say that paying to get an Uber for a martini from your own restaurant is a heck of a rich guy move if ever I've heard one.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle