One of the most-watched TV departures of the current season was that of NCIS's Pauley Perrette, who made her exit from the CBS drama after 15 years as forensics specialist Abby Sciuto. While the lead-up to that big farewell painted everything as being amicable enough, with the actress saying she was following her calling by leaving, Perrette recently went public with a series of social media posts that allege she suffered some form of physical assaults while working on NCIS, and seemed to imply these incidents are what made her leave the show.
Here, Pauley Perrette claims to have been a victim of bullying on NCIS, using the word horrifying when describing having to return to a workspace where one doesn't feel safe. By her account, she clearly didn't feel safe on the set of her job anymore, thanks to "multiple physical assaults," but she was able to take the steps to remove herself from that situation..
In a previous tweet, Pauley Perrette referred to the fact that she hasn't publicly talked about what happened on NCIS that drove her to leave, saying she has "refused to go low." However, she is taking issue with tabloid articles making their own claims about her situation, and she called them out for being dishonest, and further dismissing anyone who chooses to believe them. (She was unclear about which articles and stories she was referring to, though she's dealt with that quite often.) And as it often goes with victims of alleged abuse, the actress has conflicted about balancing the cost of telling the truth and the cost of staying silent.
The scope of the situation is addressed there, with Pauley Perrette alluding to the mess that would be made if she spoke up about her alleged attacks, which would potentially put the jobs of NCIS' crew members in jeopardy. And she then implied that there are specific efforts being made to stop her from talking about it.
With "He did it," Pauley Perrette makes a more direct accusation than in other tweets, and it was only after that one that she brought up the physical assaults she reportedly endured. At this point, it's impossible to know what will come next from Perrette's situation, as far as possible legal proceedings and official investigations into any alleged misconduct. The actress hasn't yet followed up with any updates, but fans are definitely paying attention and hoping for the best.
In her final pair of NCIS episodes, Pauley Perrette gave fans a scare, as Abby was the victim of a mugging that put her in the hospital. (And put one other NCIS lead in the grave.) The mini-arc shared some real-world similarities with Perrette being the victim of a 2015 attack outside her home, where she was assaulted and threatened by a homeless man. That character's last hurrah, combined with the assault allegations she's now voicing, may add some potentially relevant context to Perrette saying she has spent her initial post-NCIS time in a grieving state. But until all the facts come out, it's impossible to know.
With just two episodes left, NCIS airs Tuesday nights on CBS at 8:00 p.m. Head to our season finale rundown to see when all the remaining primetime hits are ending, and then jump to our summer premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
