Two male principal dancers at the New York City Ballet were fired over the weekend after they were accused in a lawsuit of inappropriately sharing nude photos and videos of female dancers.

Zachary Catazaro, 29, and Amar Ramasar, 36, and third dancer Chase Finlay, who resigned last month,  engaged in “inappropriate communications,” that violated the conducts that were to be followed by employees.

The news came when Alexandra Waterbury, a woman who had dated Chase Finlay, claimed that he had referred to female dancers as “sluts,” secretly filmed and photographed her nude, then shared the photos to a group that seemed to have exploited female dancers. Waterbury says that Chase Finlay was the person who started the exchanges between Catanzaro and Ramasar after he sent this message to a number of men who worked in the company, “You have any pictures of girls you’ve f–ked? I’ll send you some ballerina girls I’ve made scream,”. Ramsar sent back a picture that showed the exposed breasts of a ballet dancer. The male dancer then routinely sent risque images of ballerinas they were involved with and lurid text messages, at one point referring to the women as “farm animals”.

Waterbury filed her lawsuit against the company and her ex-boyfriend earlier this month, and stated that the company was a “breeding ground for sexual exploitation.” “Clearly, New York City Ballet Inc. had extensive knowledge of this out-of-control, fraternity-house, abusive and sexually-charged environment, but it did nothing to stop it so long as it continued to sell tickets,” the lawsuit said. Although the company denied condoning any inappropriate behavior, an investigation was prompted right after they were made aware of Waterbury’s charges and planned to fire Finlay when he resigned. Catanzaro and Ramasar were initially suspended without pay before the company moved to terminate them on Saturday.

The New York City Ballet executive director Katherine Brown and interim artistic team leader Jonathan Stafford said, “We have no higher obligation than to ensure that our dancers and staff have a workplace where they feel respected and valued, and we are committed to providing that environment for all employees of New York City Ballet. We will not allow the private actions of a few to undermine the hard work and strength of character that is consistently demonstrated by the other members of our community or the excellence for which the company stands.”