Of all the performances Pauley Perrette has given to date, perhaps none outclasses the emotional range she displayed as Abby Sciuto throughout the 352 episodes and 15 seasons that she worked on the police drama NCIS. But despite her iconic renditions that she kept on delivering for 15 years, she left the show unexpectedly, leaving behind a trail of allegations for her co-star.
Though it has been years since this matter first sprung up, it hasn’t aged well nonetheless as Perrette slammed Mark Harmon with some of the most spine-chilling allegations and alluded to suffering “multiple physical assaults” on set. Either way, a lot has been said and done since then, and here’s a detailed dive into what actually went down behind her departure all those years ago.
Pauley Perrette’s Spine-Chilling Allegations for Mark Harmon
Back in 2018, when she first exited the series with her character Abby leaving NCIS following Clay’s death, a lot of claims went down the rumor mill about the speculated reasons behind Pauley Perrette’s withdrawal from the saga. Tired of it all, the actress finally addressed it through her social media handle, sharing that the tabloids telling ‘total lies about me’ had her coming clean.
Her initial tweets posted to her X handle @PauleyP had her expressing her distraughtness at not spilling the beans behind her exit as she felt the need to protect her crew, jobs and so many people. But then she realized that maybe silence isn’t the right thing about crime before she finally, more or less, spilled the beans on what actually went down.
In a rant-filled tweet that followed during that same period, Perette went on to write, “There is a ‘machine’ keeping me silent, and feeding FALSE stories about me. A very rich, very powerful publicity ‘machine’. No morals, no obligation to truth, and I’m just left here, reading the lies, trying to protect my crew. Trying to remain calm. He did it.”
Adding to this, in another tweet, she further alluded to all the hardships she had to endure while on the show, writing,
“I’ve been supporting ant-bullying programs forever. But now I KNOW because it was ME! If it’s school or work, that you’re required to go to? It’s horrifying. I left. Multiple Physical Assaults. I REALLY get it now. Stay safe. Nothing is worth your safety. Tell someone.”
These loaded tweets then got a response from CBS Television Studios as well, which said (via E! News), “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.“
Of course, Perrette went on to thank CBS in her tweet for having always been good to me and always having my back. But the real drama that even the eagle-eyed fans didn’t miss was that the actress’ Abby hadn’t shared any screen time with Mark Harmon’s Special Agent in Charge Leroy Gibbs throughout the entirety of season 15, which was Perrette’s last season.
Days following this drama saw The Wrap reporting that a rift had appeared between the two co-stars when Harmon allegedly continued to bring his dog to work after it bit a crew member bad enough for him to get stitches (his attorney refuted the claims about the dog returning to set).
While that was that, what further sealed the deal on this feud was a source’s report, which said:
“She did her scenes on one day and he did his work on other days, and they still produced a great show. It was simply scheduled that they did not work the same days.”
While that raised speculation about Harmon’s alleged role in her exit from the series, 2019 saw further drama unfold. Taking once again to X, Perrette said, “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! You’ll love it! #HappyPlace Love y’all!”
As spine-chilling as these allegations were even without her detailing anything, Perrette further went on to reportedly tweet photos of what she claimed were of an NCIS crew member with stitches and a black eye. She reportedly tweeted (per E! News):
“You think I didn’t 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.”
Apparently, all of this being said with the speculation of Harmon allegedly assaulting her being backed up by Vanity Fair, what seems to have started with Harmon’s dog allegedly biting a crew member on the sets of the show ostensibly didn’t end well with Perrette, considering how it all came down to her leaving the series before proceeding to allege her co-star of misconduct.
But the most surprising part of it all is that CBS has been doing anything and everything to keep the issue under the rug.
CBS Tried to Brush the Matter Under the Rug with as Little Deets as Possible
While this series of allegations over the years from Pauley Perrette all connected the dots to her alluding to having reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of her co-star Mark Harmon, it all triggered massive fan outrage as well. And while Harmon himself never publically addressed those claims, what CBS had to say about it wasn’t all that satisfactory either.
Per E! Online, CBS Entertainment prez Kelly Kahl addressed the speculated issues between Harmon and Perrette at the 2019 Television Critics Association summer press tour, saying, “I can’t speak to what she’s addressing in her tweets. She did come to us a couple years ago with a workplace concern. We immediately investigated it and we resolved it to everyone’s satisfaction.“
Besides claiming the issue had been resolved, Kahl further slammed reports of rifts between the two by pointing out that Perrette had hopped back onboard with CBS in the comedy Broke alongside Jamie Camil, saying, “We are very happy to have her on the air again this year with us and I don’t think she would be back with us if she had huge concerns.“
All of this being said, the real reason behind this mystery is yet to be unfold, and judging from the good job CBS has done keeping everything under the rug for so long, the truth behind it all might as well never face the light of the day unless either Pauley Perrette or Mark Harmon decide to come candidly clean about their NCIS past.
NCIS can currently be streamed on Netflix.
