In a series of tweets over the weekend, departing 'NCIS' star Perrette hinted that she had suffered "multiple physical assaults" on set over the years.
American TV network CBS has issued a response to claims from former ‘NCIS’ actress Pauley Perrette that she suffered “multiple physical assaults” on set during her time on the show.
CBS Television Studios gave a statement late on Tuesday (May 15th) in response to a series of cryptic tweets by Perrette made two days previously. Her role as forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on crime drama ‘NCIS’ came to an end last week after 15 seasons, but taking to the social media platform over the weekend, she claimed that she had been the subject of a number of assaults at work, and that it may have contributed to her decision to leave.
“It’s horrifying,” she wrote on Saturday. “I left.”
Pauley Perrette in 2016
The 49 year old star also claimed “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.”
More: ‘NCIS’ star Pauley Perrette confronts her street attacker in court [archive]
“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,” she continued.
Many anticipated that CBS would therefore come under scrutiny, but CBS eventually issued a response this week, outlining a “workplace concern” that Perrette had approached them with, and one that was dealt with to her satisfaction.
“Pauley Perrette had a terrific run on NCIS and we are all going to miss her,” an official reaction from CBS said. “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.”
In response, Perrette praised CBS and how they dealt with the complaints. “They have always been so good to me and always had my back,” she tweeted a few hours after CBS’ statement.
Since its premiere in 2003, NCIS has become the most popular show on TV. Each...