Getty (L-R) Actors Pauley Perrette, Mark Harmon and Cote de Pablo pose as Mark Harmon is honored with the 2,482nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 1, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
In 2018, NCIS Star Pauley Perrette left the show, saying she was terrified of her co-star Mark Harmon. She’d been on the show for a total of 15 seasons, but she’d stopped appearing on screen with Harmon in 2016.
After her last episode of the show, Perrette tweeted about “multiple physical assaults,” and the words “He did it.” The tweets were referencing Harmon, and they spread very quickly. She added “I want to thank my studio and network CBS they have always been so good to me and always had my back.”
She also tweeted “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 the truth, and I’m just left here, reading the lies, trying to protect my crew. Trying to remain calm. He did it.”
Fans were left wondering why Perrette was saying all the negative things about the show after praising it for years, and they were left to question whether Harmon had physically or sexually assaulted her. According to a source quoted by The Wrap, that was not what she meant to insinuate.
It All Started With a Dog Bite
In 2016, Harmon brought his dog to set, and the dog reportedly bit one of the crew members he was playing with. The injury resulted in 15 stitches. After that incident, it’s unclear whether the dog was brought to work again. The Wrap reported that he did continue to bring his dog, but Harmon’s attorney told them that wasn’t the case.
A person familiar with the situation reportedly said that he would bring the dog to work only when it was on a leash or in his trailer. The dog was no longer allowed to roam freely, the person said. Harmon did eventually stop bringing him in all together.
Perrette said the crew was reluctant to confront Harmon about his dog making them uncomfortable since he was an executive producer on the show. So instead of having a crew member say something, Perrette stepped up to confront him.
After that, the two stopped appearing on set together and were never even on the same set on the same days. If they did appear in the same scenes, it wasn’t because they’d been in the same room together to shoot them, it was all editing.
According to Vanity Fair, a source said that Perrette had already decided to leave the show prior to the incident with the dog bite.
CBS put out a statement after Perrette’s tweets, saying simply ““Pauley Perrette had a terrific run on N.C.I.S. 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.”
Abby Did Not Say Farewell to Gibbs in Her Goodbye Episode
Because of everything happening between the actors, Perrette’s character did not say goodbye to Harmon’s during her final episode.
For years, they had been close, sharing scenes and witty banter with one another, which is something fans enjoyed in earlier seasons of the show.
In a Reddit thread about Abby’s departure and whether or not fans miss the character, people replied to say they missed early “well-written” Abby and not the Abby they got near the end of her run on the show.
NCIS airs on Tuesdays on CBS.
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What Happened Between Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrette?