Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon were a real on-screen dream team on NCIS. But, off-screen, personal relations between the two actors were far from good.
Perrette left NCIS in 2018 after portraying forensic scientist "Abby Sciuto" for nearly 15 years. The reason for her exit was initially unknown, but she eventually opened up on Twitter in 2019, making serious allegations against Harmon.
NCIS: Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon's feud
It was at this time that the public became aware of the tense and allegedly abusive relationship. "NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it," Perrette wrote in reply to a Twitter fan question on a possible return to NCIS.
The reason for Perrette's fears was said to have been a dog owned by Mark Harmon. The fighting dog breed allegedly attacked several crew members on the set. But the actress's complaints about the incident didn't improve matters for her, it seems.
He played "Billy Hicks"
The Pauley Perrette-Mark Harmon relationship breakdown
On the contrary, the situation for Perrette only worsened after she claimed to have pushed back against Harmon. "And then I was physically assaulted for saying NO!? and I lost my job," Perrette also wrote on Twitter, giving alleged insight into why she really left NCIS.
Harmon himself didn't address the incident but hoped for support from the broadcaster CBS. The network's boss Kelly Kahl eventually spoke on the troubling accusations made against Harmon.
CBS responded to Pauley Perrette-Mark Harmon incident
During the TCA Press Tour of 2019, the CBS head told TVInsider the following about the Perrette-Harmon conflict: "I can't speak to what she's addressing in her tweet. She did come to us a couple of years ago with a workplace concern. We immediately investigated it and we resolved it to everyone's satisfaction."
Perrette later tweeted an update on her health in October 2019, announcing that she was happy and healthy again after a few difficult years. One reason for the turnaround was her new role on the sitcom Broke, another CBS series, which was ultimately cancelled in 2020 after just one season.
An NCIS reunion between Perrette and Harmon appears unlikely due to this lingering dispute, for which closure was never given publicly by Perrette. As of now, Mark Harmon has also left the series after a long time of the show.
