I would say drywall contractor / GC. You hired the painter to paint, not prep the drywall. But as has already happened be prepared for pushback from all sides and finger pointing.

What do your contracts say? I want to say it would be your GC, and on to his drywall person. But it could depend on what is in the contract- is the drywall part of the job supposed to be painting ready, or something more ambiguous like drywall is taped and plastered, but it does not mention sanded or smooth finish to be paint ready. It sounds like a dumb little sticking point, but it could be one your GC is using.

GC of course, but good luck fighting that one. Sorry you are in this bind.

If these are your GC's subs, then he needs to figure it out.

This (very sadly) is typical kicking the can down the road and hoping the customer will just be worn down and accept crappy work.

Drywall folks should do this. Painters paint. Drywallers provide an appropriate wall for paint. Painter should have not painted knowing that wall would look bad, and now will have to do it again (maybe they will charge GC twice?).

But your GC should be doing some quality control to say "this wall is / isn't ready for paint". 'cause that's their JOB.

Your GC is an idiot for allowing a sub not his own and over whom he has no control on his job site. He deserves whatever beating ensues.

There are different levels of drywall finishing. You may have that specified in your job description. If you do find out if what you see is allowed. I'm thinking the GC is not doing his job. There's always the option of doing the sanding to smooth the areas yourself.

Thanks everyone for the input! I've clarified with our GC and painter and we're all good... for now! Wish me luck!