Pauley Perrette was a beloved mainstay of primetime for more than a decade thanks to her role as Abby on NCIS, but she departed the series in Season 15 to the dismay of fans everywhere. Although her final episode seemingly ended with the door open for her to return, mere days after that episode aired, Perrette came forward with claims of "multiple physical assaults" during her time at the show.
Now, Pauley Perrette has confirmed in no uncertain terms that she's not coming back to NCIS because of star Mark Harmon.
Pauley Perrette didn't hold back in telling people via tweet that she is not 'ever' coming back to NCIS, and she's apparently been asked about it repeatedly since departing. Fans hoping for more of Abby shouldn't count on her coming back, even though the latest season brought back somebody else who once seemed unlikely to return. Perrette's feelings do explain why she wouldn't want to return.
Apparently, she is "terrified" of her longtime co-star Mark Harmon and has "nightmares" about it. Although Pauley Perrette opened up in May 2018 and stated that she'd suffered "multiple physical assaults," she never explicitly accused Harmon, and CBS' statement regarding the situation didn't mention Harmon at all. At the time of writing, CBS has not responded to Perrette's latest accusation against Harmon.
This was a big accusation to explicitly make against the star of one of the biggest shows on television, especially when it has been making all kinds of headlines for the way it tied up its latest season. A couple hours after posting her first tweet about Mark Harmon on June 7, Pauley Perrette tweeted this:
This follow-up tweet was light on details about who is pictured and what exactly happened, but bruises and stitches indicate that the injury was serious. Her previous tweet implies that Mark Harmon is the one who "physically assaulted her," and this post suggests that she lost her job for speaking up. The idea of an actress so iconic to NCIS could have been fired rather than made the decision to leave isn't easy to think about.
Will Pauley Perrette's accusation affect the future of NCIS? Only time will tell. Accusations made against former NCIS actor and current Bull star Michael Weatherly seemingly didn't result in seriously repercussions for the actor, although Eliza Dushku at least got to tell her story, and Steven Spielberg and Amblin TV pulled out of the show. CBS did reveal why Bull was renewed for Season 4 despite the issues with Michael Weatherly. Will Mark Harmon and NCIS be faced with backlash because of Perrette's accusations?
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for developments in the story as they become available. As Pauley Perrette mentioned in her first tweet, she will be back on the airwaves on CBS with a brand new show. She'll show off her comedy chops this time as leading lady of freshman series Broke.
