Update: CBS Television Studios responded to Refinery29's request for comment with the following 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."
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."
Original story published below on 15th May.
Abby Sciuto was one of the most recognisable characters on television for 16 years, so Pauley Perrette’s decision to leave NCIS was clearly not one she took lightly. Now, days after her last episode of the show aired on CBS, Perrette took to Twitter to reveal that real reason for her departure was that she had been subjected to "multiple physical assaults."
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"I refused to go low, that's why I've never told publicly what happened," she said in a series of tweets beginning on Saturday. "But there are tabloid articles out there that are telling total lies about me. If you believe them? Please leave me alone."
I refused to go low, that's why I've never told publicly what happened. But there are tabloid articles out there that are telling total lies about me. If you believe them? Please leave me alone. You clearly don't know me. (Sorry guys, had to be said)
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) May 13, 2018
We're not entirely sure which tabloid articles she's referring to here. Our best guess is a story Radar floated last December that said she was leaving after feuding with star Mark Harmon over his pit bull. According to TMZ, in 2016 the dog had reportedly attacked a crew member who had to receive stitches, but Harmon refused to stop bringing it to the set. No other outlets corroborated this account of Perrette's departure, however. There was also a fake skincare line she denounced back in November.
In her tweets, the actress attests that she won't tell the whole story in order to protect the show's crew but blamed a man who "did it."
"Just know, I'm trying to do the right thing, but maybe silence isn't the right thing about crime. I'm... Just... ?" she wrote. "There is a "machine' keeping me silent, and feeding FALSE stories about me."
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.
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) May 13, 2018
Nevertheless, she did give some small hint about what went down, writing, "I've been supporting anti-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."
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Before her last two episodes playing the forensic scientist and goth icon Abby, she was much more vague about her departure.
"I believe in God and the universe so firmly, and it just suddenly became blindingly apparent that now was the time," Perrette told TV Guide magazine. "After a lot of thought, I decided to announce it myself on Twitter because I didn’t want it to be turned into anything 'shocking.' Abby leaving is more than a cheap TV ploy."
In addition to telling the public about being stalked for many years, Perrette also wrote about her own #MeToo story on Twitter last fall, revealing that she was raped when she was 15 years old.
“I never met THAT Harvey Weinstein But I sure do know him,” she wrote. “In different shapes, sizes and names.”
Refinery29 has reached out to NCIS and Perrette's reps for further comment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
If you have experienced sexual violence of any kind, please visit Rape Crisis or call 0808 802 9999.