An ex-employee recently revealed that Blake Lively‘s now-defunct company, Preserve, had a very “toxic” environment. They found the actor’s lawsuit was “ironic,” as her lifestyle brand had a highly “unprofessional” atmosphere as well. The company eventually shut down in 2015, with the staff reportedly asked to sign non-disclosure agreements before they were fired.

The Daily Mail recently interviewed several ex-employees from Blake Lively’s now-defunct company, Preserve. The staff members provided an insider’s look at the lifestyle brand’s ongoings before it eventually shut its gates in 2015. Notably, many found her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni “ironic” as she accused him of creating an inappropriate environment at the “It Ends With Us” set.

The company functioned out of an apartment in Manhattan. The property was owned by the actor’s brother, Eric Lively, who allegedly used it for alcohol and drug use. One of the ex-staff members told the outlet, “The entire company was an absolute disaster.” Eric often left the employees waiting outside as he overslept in the studio apartment, and they were forced to work without any furniture for quite some time.

The former staff called the company “one of the most insane, toxic, emotionally draining and disorganized environments.” Moreover, one of them claimed that Lively left them with the impression that “she doesn’t care.” They were not only asked to sign non-disclosure agreements but were also supposedly provided settlements of up to $300,000 when they threatened legal action.

The ex-employees claimed that the actor’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, was the one behind all the news being conveniently buried during the time of the company’s closure. One of them told the outlet, “They buried every single thing from that company.” In addition, the insiders stated that things started looking worse once Lively’s brother bagged a leadership role in the lifestyle brand. A former staff member said, “[Eric] was completely unqualified to run a company. There were a lot of ways in which the employment was unprofessional.”