Former NCIS Star Pauley Perrette Says Shes “Terrified” of Mark Harmon
The circumstances surrounding Pauley Perrettes exit from NCIS just got even murkier. Last spring the..
The circumstances surrounding Pauley Perrettes exit from NCIS just got even murkier. Last spring the actress gave an emotional farewell performance after 15 seasons as the goth lab-lurker Abby Sciuto—but fans were puzzled to see that Perrette and Mark Harmons character, Gibbs, did not occupy the same space during their final goodbye. Instead, Abby left her surrogate father figure a note and watched from the street as he read it—a setup that resembled Archie Panjabis departure from another CBS show, The Good Wife, after a very public feud with costar Julianna Margulies.
Days after her departure, Perrette fired off a series of vague tweets in which she implied shed left the procedural after “multiple physical assaults.” That in turn reminded fans that years before, things had turned icy between her and Harmon, apparently due to a dog bite on set. Now Perrette is requesting that fans stop asking when she might return to the series, saying she has nightmares about Harmon attacking her.
On Friday, Perrette tweeted, “NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it. I have a new show that is SAFE AND HAPPY! Youll love it! #HappyPlace Love yall!” (Perrette will now star on another CBS series, Broke, with costar Jaime Camil.)
In a now-deleted tweet, Perrette reportedly added, “You think I didnt expect blow back? You got me wrong. THIS happened To my crew member and I fought like hell to keep it from happening again! To protect my crew! And then I was physically assaulted for saying NO!?and I lost my job.”
Perrette first announced her impending departure from NCIS in 2017, saying that shed made the decision to leave the previous year. “I hope everyone will love and enjoy EVERYTHING ABBY not only for the rest of this season but for everything she has given all of us for 16 years,” Perrette wrote at the time. “All the love, all the laughter, all the inspiration…I love her as much as you do.” When she left the series the next year, her character shared emotional farewells with all her loved ones—except Gibbs.
So why did the show not depict Abby and Gibbs saying goodbye face-to-face? Thats where things get complicated and deeply confusing. Days after her final episode, Perrette posted a series of tweets in which she seemed to be deliberating whether to fully explain the decision.
“I refused to go low, thats why Ive never told publicly what happened,” Perrette wrote at the time. “But there are tabloid articles out there that are telling total lies about me. If you believe them? Please leave me alone. You clearly dont know me. (Sorry guys, had to be said).” A day later she added, “Maybe Im wrong for not spilling the beans. Telling the story, THE TRUTH. I feel I have to protect my crew, jobs and so many people. But at what cost? I dont know. Just know, Im trying to do the right thing, but maybe silence isnt the right thing about crime. Im… Just… ?”
“There is a machine keeping me silent, and feeding FALSE stories about me,” she continued. “A very rich, very powerful publicity machine. No morals, no obligation to truth, and Im just left here, reading the lies, trying to protect my crew. Trying to remain calm. He did it.” Perrette ended that stream of tweets with one final thought: “Ive been supporting ant[i]-bullying programs forever. But now I KNOW because it was ME! If its school or work, that youre required to go to? Its horrifying. I left. Multiple Physical Assaults. I REALLY get it now. Stay safe. Nothing is worth your safety. Tell someone.”
Following Perrettes tweets, CBS released its own statement: “Pauley Perrette had a terrific run on NCIS and we are all going to miss her. Over a year ago, Pauley came to us with a workplace concern. We took the matter seriously and worked with her to find a resolution. We are committed to a safe work environment on all our shows.” After that, Perrette added: “I want to thank my studio and network CBS They have always been so good to me and always had my bRead More – Source
