Actress Pauley Perrette said she will not return to the hit show NCIS because she is ‘terrified’ of her co-star Mark Harmon.
Perrette took to Twitter on Friday in response to fans questioning if she would appear as character Abby Sciuto in the crime series again.
She said in a tweet: ‘NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it. I have a new show that is SAFE AND HAPPY! You’ll love it!. Love y’all!.’
Perrette left the hit CBS show in May 2018 after 16 years on the series.
Actress Pauley Perrette, (left), said she will not return to the hit show NCIS because she is ‘terrified’ of her co-star Mark Harmon, (right)
In a follow-up tweet, she further shared photos of an alleged crew member’s eye beaten up and in stitches.
‘You think I didn’t expect blow back? You got me wrong. THIS happened To my crew member and I fought like hell to keep it from happening again! To protect my crew!’ she added. ‘And then I was physically assaulted for saying NO!?and I lost my job.’
It is thought that the incident stems back to 2016 when Mark Harmon had his dog on set and allegedly bit a crew member who required 15 stitches, The Wrap reported at last year.
Attempts by DailyMail.com to reach a representative for Mark Harmon on Friday were unsuccessful.
Harmon plays the leading role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the long-running show. Rumours he was leaving the show due to health reasons surfaced back in December but his spokesman told Page 6 this was ‘completely untrue.’
Harmon, 67, is also an executive producer on NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans. He has played the character Leroy Jethro Gibbs since the original series’ 2003 premiere.
The Wrap reported last year that tension between the two began in 2016 over an incident involving Harmon’s dog on set.
Perrette took to Twitter on Friday in response to fans questioning if she would appear as character Abby Sciuto in the crime series again. She claimed she was not because she was ‘terrified’ of her co-star Mark Harmon attacking her
She posted pictures of a crew member with a swollen eye and stitches. While she did not elaborate, it is thought that the incident stems back to 2016 when Mark Harmon had his dog on set and the animal allegedly bit a crew member who required 15 stitches
Harmon’s dog had bitten a crew member and they required 15 stitches.
It was reported that Perrette later objected when the dog was allowed to return to the set afterward, multiple individuals told The Wrap.
That incident caused so much tension that the show decided that the stars would never have to be in the same location together, sources claimed.
The Wrap reported that tension between Perrette and Harman began in 2016 over an incident involving Harmon’s dog on set. Harmon’s dog had bitten a crew member and he required 15 stitches
‘She did her scenes on one day and he did his work on other days, and they still produced a great show,’ one insider told The Wrap last year. ‘It was simply scheduled that they did not work the same days.’
An insider explained that the actress wasn’t implying that there was any physical abuse or sexual harassment on set and added that she decided to leave NCIS before the dog incident.
Sources connected with production told TMZ that Harmon’s dog is a 3-year-old pit bull mix called Dave that he rescued as a pup.
Harmon’s attorney, Barry Axelrod, told The Wrap that the dog was not a pitbull, but said he did not know the animal’s breed.
Perrette plays forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on the show while Harmon, who is the show’s executive producer, plays the leading role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs who commands a team for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Stars of the show, Cote de Pable, Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette and Brian Dietzen, (pictured left to right), attend CBS 2013 Upfront Presentation at The Tent at Lincoln Center in 2013
Axelrod claimed that his client’s dog did not come back to the set’ after the bite, others who spoke to TheWrap on condition of anonymity said the dog did return.
‘If he brought the dog to work, he was on a leash or in his trailer. He definitely took steps to make sure that the dog was with him and was not just roaming freely, and then he just stopped bringing him altogether,’ one person said.
It was reported that a number of people were uncomfortable with the dog’s presence around the set after the bite, but they were afraid to confront Harmon, who was ultimately their boss.
In a separate incident, Perrette claimed she was living in fear and afraid to walk outside her home after learning a vagrant, who attacked her in 2015, had been released from a state psychiatric institution.
Sources claimed an incident on set with Harmon’s dog caused so much tension that the show decided that the stars would never had to be in the same location together
Perrette, 48, spoke to Fox 11 News but would only give a brief, off-camera statement as the actress says the attack, in which the man also threatened to kill her, ‘changed her life forever’, saying: ‘I don’t walk outside my house.’
The actress ominously added: ‘I think that it’s entirely possible that the next word I hear about this guy is that he’s killed a female.’
News that homeless David Merck was released from an institution, and was back in the area, has those in Perrette’s Hollywood neighborhood worried, and on watch for him.
The attack happened outside her Hollywood home, writing that she was walking on the street near her home when Merck allegedly struck her on the nose and forehead while threatening to kill her.
Perrette later drew a sketch of the suspect for police, which helped lead to his arrest.