Mr Swinney was quizzed on comments from Ms Sturgeon, who said she intervened “many times” to stop Alex Salmond bullying colleagues.
Now Mr Swinney, who was a key member of Mr Salmond’s cabinet, said: “That’s the way it was.”
He told BBC’s the Sunday Show: “I think it’s pretty well documented that Alex could be kind of brisk with people and sometimes we all witnessed that, and sometimes we had to say ‘look that’s not on’.”
Asked if he also intervened, Mr Swinney said: “That’s just the way it was.”
Mr Swinney served as finance secretary for the whole of Mr Salmond’s tenure as first minister, from 2007, and continued the role under Ms Sturgeon until 2016.
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Allies of Mr Salmond – the former first minister who died in North Macedonia in October at the age of 69 – have hit out at the comments as an ongoing row over the Scottish Government.
Ms Sturgeon told the Financial Times on Friday that her predecessor and mentor, Mr Salmond was “really rough” on people, adding: “Many times I intervened to stop him.”
Sturgeon and Salmond were once considered to be amongst the most formidable political duos in the UK.
But their relationship shattered when Mr Salmond was accused of sexual harassment by female civil servants.
He then took Ms Sturgeon’s government to court and was awarded £512,000 in costs after proving it had botched a probe relating to the allegations.
He claimed that his successor had misled Holyrood about the matter.
Mr Salmond was later charged with multiple counts of sexual assault but cleared on all counts at a High Court trial in 2020.
But critics have condemned Ms Sturgeon for making the comments after Mr Salmond’s death, while former SNP MP Joanna Cherry questioned whether the comments were “credible”.
Deputy leader of Alba Kenny Macaskill, hit back at Ms Sturgeon’s comments on Friday: “Alex Salmond could be a demanding man who expected the very highest standards from those who served with or worked for him. But he was a fair man and one who led by example.
“The loyalty and respect that so many had for him was shown at both his funeral and memorial service. There many who had worked with or for him came to pay their respects and honour the man they felt privileged to work with.”