Golden Globe-winning drama Green Book has been hit with further controversy after the film’s director, Peter Farrelly, apologised for his past sexual misconduct and its producer and co-writer Nick Vallelonga (on whose book the film is based) was accused of Islamophobia.

Farrelly responded after newspaper articles from the 1990s were unearthed mentioning his predilection for showing his penis during meetings, including one with Cameron Diaz before she was cast in the 1998 hit There’s Something About Mary, which Farrelly co-directed with his brother Bobby. An article from 1998 in Newsweek, in the run-up to that film’s release, describes the “sick pranks” that the brothers enjoyed, while quoting Diaz as saying: “When a director shows you his penis the first time you meet him, you’ve got to recognise the creative genius.’’

Diaz is also quoted in a 2000 article in the Observer saying: “I just adore those guys … Bobby’s a little more shy. He doesn’t pull his penis out as much … That’s Peter behaviour. Bobby moons.” According to another article in the Observer, in 1998, Peter Farrelly said he had done it “at least 500 times”.

In a statement, Peter Farrelly said: “True. I was an idiot. I did this decades ago and I thought I was being funny and the truth is I’m embarrassed and it makes me cringe now. I’m deeply sorry.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Vallelonga deleted his Twitter account after it revealed he had tweeted in 2015 to support Donald Trump’s false claim that in New Jersey “thousands of people were cheering” the destruction of the World Trade Center. In a widely circulated screenshot, Vallelonga wrote in reply to Trump: “100% correct. Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on local CBS news.”

La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz was among the industry figures to express their outrage, writing: “Mahershala Ali is a Muslim, and a beautiful, generous and kind man. This is all just too disgusting.”

In Green Book – named after the celebrated guide book that enabled black motorists to avoid racial discrimination as they travelled across the US – Ali plays pianist Don Shirley on a concert tour in the Jim Crow-era deep south, accompanied by an Italian-American driver/bodyguard played by Viggo Mortensen, based on Vallelonga’s father Tony. The film has won numerous awards, including the influential People’s Choice award at the Toronto film festival, and three Golden Globes: for best film (musical or comedy), best supporting actor for Ali, and best screenplay, for which Farrelly and Vallelonga are both credited, along with Brian Hayes Currie. Farrelly was nominated for best director but did not win.

However, despite its liberal credentials, Green Book has become a lightning rod for criticism. Thematically, it has come under fire as an example of a “white saviour” narrative, while the film’s portrayal of a close friendship between Vallelonga and Shirley was flatly denied by Shirley’s family in an interview with Shadow & Act. In the same article, Ali was reported to have apologised for any offence caused by his portrayal of Shirley (who died in 2013), and was quoted as saying: “I did the best I could with the material I had.” Mortensen also apologised for using a racial slur during a Q&A about the film in November.