Danish authorities are investigating allegations of “sexual harassment, degradation and bullying” at Zentropa, the film studio co-founded by director Lars Von Trier.

The investigation comes in response of a report by the Danish newspaper Politiken, in which nine women – all former employees at Zentropa – spoke of an “ingrained” culture of abuse at the studio. Several of the those interviewed said that their treatment had prompted them to stop working in the film industry altogether.

Many of the allegations centre on Zentropa’s co-founder and former CEO Peter Aalbæk Jensen, with women claiming that he would grope their breasts, and ask them to lie across his knee and “get spanked”. Particularly singled out, according to the report, were young female trainees, who were told by Jensen to fetch nipple clamps or, bizarrely, to vaccinate his pigs. Further sexually degrading acts were carried out at the company’s Christmas party, with Jensen allegedly handing out awards to the trainees who undressed the fastest or had the longest pubic hair.

A separate investigation by the Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information, which spoke to several former employees at Zentropa, alleges that Jensen would offer trainees “spanking” as one of two options for punishment, the other being to clean out the stables at Jensen’s farm. Jensen later confirmed the punishment methods in an interview with Danish Radio 24/7, according to the report.

Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Photograph: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

“I think that everyone who has been employed by Zentropa has been exposed to or witnessed certain things. Both sexually charged acts and bullying or ‘teasing’. All of this was an ingrained part of the culture,” said Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen, a former producer at the studio.

Anna Mette Lundtofte, a freelance journalist who spent a year at Zentropa while researching a book on the company, made similar claims. “I saw women being degraded. According to the Zentropa propaganda, I would be part of an ‘alternative work culture’, but in reality, I encountered an old-fashioned, patriarchal power structure,” she said.

Jensen, who stepped down as CEO of Zentropa in 2016, but still owns 25% of the company with Von Trier, corroborated some of the allegations made in the Politiken article as recurring “rituals” at the company. He said that while he had he had no recollection of some of the other alleged incidents, they “probably happened”. However, he denied that there was systemic harassment at the organisation. “I’ll say this: I have no interest in submission and degradation. I’m interested in testing boundaries, especially where the red line is,” he said.

“There have been plenty of times when I’ve been over the top or gone too far. And I stand by that fully. But the question is whether you are an adored leader or not. And I am an adored leader,” Jensen added.

Speaking to Screen Daily, current CEO Anders Kjærhauge said that the Politiken report “does not match the Zentropa that I know”. However, he said that changes would be made to the company’s workplace culture. “We will initiate a process with our employees in order to prepare a more clear vision in regards to what is a good working place”, he said.

A further statement issued by Zentropa on Monday said that, after a meeting between Jensen and company management, “it will not be a part of Zentropa’s culture to give or receive a smack as either reward or punishment. The company culture at Zentropa will continue to be colourful and alterative, but we do not wish to violate anyone’s rights or insult anyone”.

Responding to Dagbladet Information about the rule change, Jensen said that he would find alternative forms of punishment for Zentropa trainees. “Believe me, I am already thinking about other demeaning ways to punish them. They will be lying on their knees begging for the spanking to be reinstated,” he said.

It is not clear what Jensen’s day-to-day role at Zentropa is, or whether he has oversight to take disciplinary action against members of staff. The Guardian has contacted Zentropa for clarification on Jensen’s comments.

The claims against Jensen are being investigated by Denmark’s Working Environment Authority, spokesman Lars Toft Pedersen told Deadline. “When we hear about relationships like these, we respond … The Labor Inspectorate takes allegations of bullying and sexual harassment seriously. We always review complaints carefully,” he said.

Founded by Von Trier and Jensen in 1992, Zentropa is Scandinavia’s largest film production company, and has a reputation for producing challenging arthouse cinema. Many of Von Trier’s films, including Antichrist, Melancholia and Nymphomaniac, were produced by the studio, along with works by other prominent Danish directors including Nikolaj Arcel, Susanne Bier and Thomas Vinterberg. In addition the studio produces a number of pornographic films, including several made for a female-friendly audience.

Von Trier, who is not named in the Politiken report, was last month forced to deny claims that he had sexually harassed the musician Björk on the set of his 2000 drama Dancer in the Dark. The denial came after Björk had accused an unnamed Danish director of harassing and touching her on the set of a film, and then “sulked and punished” her when she didn’t respond to his advances. “That was not the case. But that we were definitely not friends, that’s a fact,” the director said.

Jensen, who was an executive producer on Dancer in the Dark, also denied the allegations and claimed that he and Von Trier were instead “the victims. That woman was stronger than both Lars von Trier and me and our company put together. She dictated everything and was about to close a movie of 100m kroner [$16m],” he said.

The allegations made against Zentropa are the latest indication that the sexual abuse scandal in the entertainment industry stretches beyond Hollywood. On Friday 685 Swedish female actors, including Oscar nominee Alicia Vikander and The Bridge star Sofia Helm, co-signed an open letter calling out sexual abuse in Swedish film and theatre. “We will no longer be silent,” the letter, published in Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reads. “We will put the shame where it belongs – with the perpetrator and those who protect him. We know who you are.”

• This article was amended on 13 November 2017. The article originally stated that Anna Mette Lundtofte was a former employee at Zentropa. In actuality, she spent a year at the company while researching a book.