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Pauley Perrette Implies She Was Physically Assaulted on the Set of ‘NCIS’: ‘Nothing Is Worth Your Safety’

Opening up. NCIS actress Pauley Perrette claims she endured “multiple physical assaults” on the set of one of her shows, and said that is the reason why she left.

Pauley-Perrette-assaulted
Pauley Perrette on NCIS. Cliff Lipson/CBS

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The actress, whose last episode on the CBS series aired on May 8, took to Twitter to defend herself after stories surfaced about why she left the show after playing forensic specialist Abby Sciuto for 15 seasons. “I refused to go low, that’s why I’ve never told publicly what happened,” the 49-year-old tweeted on Saturday, May 12. “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).”

“Maybe I’m wrong for not ‘spilling the beans’ Telling the story, THE TRUTH. I feel I have to protect my crew, jobs and so many people. But at what cost? I.don’t know. Just know, I’m trying to do the right thing, but maybe silence isn’t the right thing about crime. I’m… Just… ?” she continued on Sunday, May 13. “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.”

Emily Wickersham, Pauley Perrette, and Brian Dietzen on NCIS.
Emily Wickersham, Pauley Perrette, and Brian Dietzen on NCIS. Robert Voets/CBS

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She added: “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.”

In an interview with CBS’ Sunday Morning about her final episode, the actress revealed that though she was mourning her exit from the long-running show, going to and leaving work every day wasn’t easy either. “It makes me sad to imagine a world without Abby in it,” the actress said at the time. “I’m still grieving. And it’s sad. I, like, usually cry in my car every single day when I drive to work. I usually cry on my way home at some point. And then I take a deep breath and I go, ‘All right,’ you know?”

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The actress — who has also appeared on Fantasy Hospital, Jag, Dawson’s Creek and more — made the announcement that she was leaving NCIS in October 2017. “So it is true that I am leaving NCIS … There have been all kinds of false rumors as to why (NO I DON’T HAVE A SKIN CARE LINE AND NO MY NETWORK AND SHOW ARE NOT MAD AT ME!),” she tweeted at the time.

“It was a decision made last year,” she continued. “I hope everyone will love and enjoy EVERYTHING ABBY not only for the rest of this season but for everything she has given all of us for 16 years. All the love, all the laughter, all the inspiration. I love her as much as you do.”

Us Weekly has reached out to Perrette’s rep for a comment regarding the allegations.

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