Ruth Wilson's sudden exit from 'The Affair' was due to 'hostile' work environment, nudity issues: report

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Actress Ruth Wilson suddenly departed "The Affair" last summer and shocked fans with her decision.

The Golden Globe winner said she wouldn't be returning for the series' fifth and final season, and made vague innuendos about why she parted ways with the Showtime drama -- which was allegedly because of a non-disclosure agreement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She told The New York Times in 2018, "There's a much bigger story," and also appeared on "CBS This Morning" last summer and told co-host Gayle King: "I did want to leave but I’m not allowed to talk about why."

Now, a new report by The Hollywood Reporter claims Wilson exited because of “ongoing frustrations with the nudity required of her,” and “what she ultimately felt was a hostile work environment," among other issues with "The Affair"s showrunner Sarah Treem and one of the show's directors and executive producers, Jeffrey Reiner.

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“There was a culture problem at the show from the very beginning and a tone-deafness from Sarah Treem about recognizing the position she was putting actors in,” a source told THR. “Over and over again, I witnessed Sarah Treem try to cajole actors to get naked even if they were uncomfortable or not contractually obligated to.”

Treem denied those allegations in a statement to THR, which read: “I would never say those things to an actor. That’s not who I am. I am not a manipulative person, and I’ve always been a feminist."

Ruth Wilson left "The Affair" after four seasons.  (Getty Images)

“I have devoted my entire professional life to writing about and speaking to women’s issues, women’s causes, women’s empowerment and creating strong, complex roles for women in theater and in Hollywood, on- and off-screen," she said. "It’s what I think about, what I care about, it’s what drives my life and work."

"The reason I even created 'The Affair' was to illuminate how the female experience of moving through the world is so different from the male one, it’s like speaking a second language," she added. "The idea that I would ever cultivate an unsafe environment or harass a woman on one of my shows is utterly ridiculous and lacks a grounding in reality."

An insider with knowledge of the show's production claimed that some men on set would make inappropriate comments like “everyone is waiting for you” or “you look beautiful…" Additionally, when nude scenes were being filmed, sometimes the monitors would allegedly be in "plain view" and there were people around "who didn't need to be."

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Wilson reportedly voiced her concerns about one sex scene that had a "rapey" vibe.

"Ruth was very unamused by it," the source said. She was supposedly labeled "difficult" when she had issues with other scenes.

Another incident took place while shooting in Montauk, New York -- where the show takes place -- and involved Reiner and "Girls" creator and actress Lena Dunham. According to sources, Reiner asked Dunham to have dinner with Wilson and allegedly convince her to “show her t-ts, or at least some v-g."

(L-R) Actors Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, Joshua Jackson, creator/executive producer Sarah Treem and executive producer/director Jeffrey Reiner speak onstage during the 'The Affair' panel discussion at the Showtime portion of the 2015 Summer TCA Tour. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

He allegedly continued to “critique and crudely evaluate the bodies of all the women on his show" and showed Dunham a supposed picture of Maura Tierney -- also an actor on "The Affair" -- with male genitalia next to her face.

After the news of the incident spread, Tierney and Wilson reportedly “expressed discomfort about continuing to work with Reiner," and he was told he was no longer allowed to direct episodes with Wilson in them and then left the show after the third season.

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Wilson allegedly used the incident as a way of getting out of her contract. Meanwhile, Dunham's former producing partner, Jenni Konner, documented the experience with Reiner on their now-defunct website Lenny Letter.

Maura Tierney as Helen, Dominic West as Noah Solloway, Ruth Wilson as Alison and Joshua Jackson as Cole in 'The Affair' (Showtime 2016)

In a statement to Fox News, Showtime reacted to the report: "At its core, Showtime has always prioritized the discovery and support of new talent, by providing an inclusive platform for original voices, and a safe environment for them to do their best work."

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"When confronted with a report of inappropriate behavior involving anyone within our offices or productions, we immediately initiate a process overseen by our compliance team in the case of our own shows, or in the case of series we license from others, we collaborate closely with the relevant production studio. In the instances that THR is referencing, appropriate and decisive action was taken," the statement concluded.

A rep for Reiner declined to comment.

However, Cleta Ellington, an assistant director on the show and reportedly longtime associate of Reiner's, said that the discussion between Dunham and Reiner, which she claims to have been present for, played out differently than Konner claimed.

"Yes, we did discuss nudity, body doubles, the ins and outs of filming sex scenes, what the various networks expected, and even shared a nude picture of male genitalia after Lena accused 'The Affair' of not showing equal male nudity (the scene had previously aired on national TV the year before). But our candid conversation did not once ever pause in discomfort. I feel the Lenny Letter, which inexplicably erased me from the conversation, was a clickbait smear against a trusted colleague."

Reps for Dunham, Wilson, and Konner did not respond to Fox News' requests for comment.