Earlier this week, former NCIS star Pauley Perrette posted a series of tweets hinting strongly at physical abuse and bullying taking place on the CBS show’s set. (The show airs on Global in Canada.)
Perrette starred on the show for 15 seasons, and just recently appeared in her final episode. While she hasn’t provided a concrete reason for her departure from the popular show, her tweets left many speculating that the alleged abuse may be an impetus.
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At the time of the tweetstorm, the American network didn’t have a public response, but now it has released a statement about the matter. It doesn’t specifically mention any abuse or any further details.
“Pauley Perrette had a terrific run on NCIS and we are all going to miss her,” said CBS Television Studios in the statement. “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.”
Perrette’s publicist, Stephen Jaffe, told Global News Monday that at this time, neither he nor his client have any further comment in regards to the tweets. He didn’t clarify or expand on their meaning.
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Perrette, 49, posted a tweet after CBS’ statement to reiterate that the network has always supported her.
When she initially announced she was leaving NCIS in October of last year, she made it clear that her relationship with CBS was totally fine, and it had nothing to do with her departure.
The Twitter rant begins with Perrette discussing some tabloid articles about her — it’s unclear which ones — but the actor seems to be saying that she somehow suffered abuse during her time on the show. Whether she was subjected to harm in her personal or professional life also isn’t specified, though her mention of her “crew, jobs and so many people” seems to indicate the set of NCIS itself rather than any relationship issues.
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There have been rumours of a clash between Perrette and former NCIS costar Mark Harmon, who supposedly brought his rescue dog on-set despite its vicious past; the dog bit a crew member in October 2016, resulting in the need for stitches. Harmon’s disregard for other people reportedly perturbed Perrette, but this has not been confirmed as the cause for her Twitter messages or her departure.
The show has seen many cast departures over the last few seasons: Cote de Pablo (Ziva David) left NCIS at the beginning of Season 11, Michael Weatherly (Anthony DiNozzo) left to star in Bull at the end of Season 13 and Jennifer Esposito (Alexandra Quinn) only starred on the show for one year.
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