Gillian Anderson has said that Sony ditched a deal to distribute “The Salt Path,” in which she starred alongside Jason Isaacs, after a scandal broke last summer over alleged fabrications in the supposedly true story.

Based on a memoir of the same name by Ray and Moth Winn, the book and film tell the story of a down-on-their-luck couple who walk the south coast of England after their home is repossessed and Moth is diagnosed with a terminal illness, emerging stronger and with a newfound sense of purpose.

Anderson played Ray while “Harry Potter” and “White Lotus” star Isaacs played Moth. Both the book and the screen adaptation were billed as a true story.

However last summer the U.K.’s Observer newspaper reported that key elements of the Winns’ story had been misrepresented, claiming that the couple had lost their house after Ray embezzled money and casting doubts on Moth’s diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration which sees sufferers given an average of eight years to live. The couples’ names were also revealed to be pseudonymous.

The Winns, who won numerous awards for the book, disputed the allegations at the time.

“It was really disappointing, a huge letdown,” Anderson has now said of the scandal. “The story came out the week we were signing U.S. distribution and Sony withdrew. We had been so surprised by its success: ‘What, really, this film about two old people going on a walk?’ It felt like such a betrayal because we’d spent time with [the Winns].”

Speaking to The Times of London, Anderson said she has not heard from the couple but seemed to have some sympathy for them, telling the newspaper: “It must have been really unsettling, to be potentially, allegedly, not telling the truth on live TV.”

She added: “I was interested in the due diligence — like, how has it come to this? What degree of proof was there? They had told us that they couldn’t talk about [a previous] legal case because it was ongoing. Anyway. It was unfortunate.”

As Variety exclusively reported earlier this year, the film is set to get a North American release via Rialto Distribution International later this month. “This is a film of quiet power,” Kelly Rogers, CEO of Rialto, said at the time. “It speaks to something deeply human – love, endurance and the idea that it’s never too late to begin again. We’re thrilled to share this remarkable screen work with viewers in the United States and Canada and believe it will leave a lasting impression.”

Variety‘s review, published before the scandal broke, praised the film, saying: “this portrait of loss, humanity and rebirth makes it worth the emotional investment.”

A rep for Sony did not respond by press time.