David O. Russell made headlines nearly a decade ago for screaming at actress Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees, and now rumors are circulating that the director has been having similar arguments with Jennifer Lawrence on the set of their own upcoming film Joy. TMZ first reported that Russell unleashed an “ear-piercing” rant on the 24-year-old Oscar-winner earlier this week, but Lawrence has taken to social media to say that the latest rumors are simply nothing but inaccurate “tabloid malarkey.”

Russell earned a reputation for being harsh with his stars in 2007, when someone leaked videos of his screaming matches with Tomlin to YouTube. TMZ claimed on Thursday that an eyewitness told them there was “a loud argument Tuesday on the Boston set between David and Jennifer” that was “ear-piercing and laced with profanities.” When asked about the incident, a rep for Joy‘s studio Fox 2000 reportedly admitted that there was screaming, but said that it was all method acting as Russell was trying to get his muse prepared for a scene in which she screams at someone.

Lawrence’s two previous collaborations with Russell were both extremely successful; he directed her to an Oscar win in 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook, and also helped her to earn an Oscar nomination for the following year’s American Hustle. When she learned of her rumored feud with the Oscar-nominated director, she quickly came to his defense on Facebook.

“David O. Russell is one of my closest friends and we have an amazing collaborative working relationship,” she wrote. “I adore this man and he does not deserve this tabloid malarkey. This movie is going great and I’m having a blast making it!”

Joy is scheduled to be released on Christmas Day, a sign that 20th Century Fox is considering the film a serious Oscar contender.