Pauley Perrette advocates for victims of assault, stalking, and domestic violence — issues
that, sadly, have also personally touched her.
But that's not even the full story on her dark past.
Here are the tragic details that have come out about the former NCIS star.
A troubled marriage
"What about a love life?
Nope.
Tried it not for me.
No?
Not at all, yeah, no.
Not at all"
Perrette's only marriage — to musician and DJ Francis 'Coyote' Shivers — ended dramatically
in 2004 when the couple split.
According to Fox News, Perrette obtained a restraining order against Shivers when they
finally divorced in 2006.
Perrette, along with another ex-wife of Shivers, told Fox that he…
"[…] stalked them and inflicted upon each of them endless mental distress [and] terrorized
them […] during their respective relationships."
Shivers, who has been arrested on multiple occasions for violating Perrette's long-standing
restraining order, even filed his own lawsuit against her in 2014.
In it, Shivers claimed Perrette was harassing him, but the court ultimately dismissed the
suit.
"Probably the best decision I ever made in my life.
I don't have to have a boyfriend or a husband, or a girlfriend or anything, you know."
A violent attack
In 2015, Perrette suffered a violent physical assault outside her home in the Hollywood
Hills.
Perrette tweeted that a homeless man allegedly…
"[…] grabbed me so forcefully, pinned my arm, punched me in the nose [and] forehead
[...] repeatedly telling me he was going to kill me."
"I was praying and praying and praying my heart out, and he kept saying to me my name
is William I'm gonna kill you, my name is William I'm gonna kill you."
The accused, 45 year old David Merck, was charged with felony counts of making a criminal
threat and false imprisonment by violence, but was later "found incompetent to stand
trial," according to the L.A. Independent.
Yet, even after having nearly lost her life, Perrette continues to advocate for the homeless.
"He breaks my heart.
I hate that people are that mentally ill in this country or anywhere with no help."
Drama at NCIS?
After her exit from the show, Perrette shocked NCIS fans a second time when she implied that
the reason she left was, in part, due to, quote, "multiple physical assaults."
While Perrette didn't exactly name the show in the series of cryptic 2018 tweets, the
network responded anyway.
According to USA Today, CBS issued a statement two days later, which read:
"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."
"It makes me sad to imagine a world without Abby in it.
It really makes me sad."
But another of Perrette's tweets left many questions unanswered.
She wrote,
"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."
Standing with survivors
"I am an ally and supporter of equality for everyone and I'm here to help make coming
out of the closet a safer place to be."
Perrette advocates for multiple platforms.
But in a move of solidarity with petitioners looking to block Mike Tyson from appearing
on a 2013 episode of Law & Order: SVU, Perrette revealed that she is herself an assault and
domestic violence survivor.
Perrette shared via Twitter how she was assaulted in high school when she was just 15.
The trauma reportedly led her to "a series of abusive relationships," as well as self-esteem
issues, and a lifelong battle with bullying.
She wrote,
"These awful […] assault revelations are not only common in the entertainment industry,
but everywhere.
[…] These predators must be stopped and we must start respecting each other's humanity
and dismissing the illusion of power that makes abusers think they are untouchable."
"The whole point is to get more people and more people aware, and to save lives."
Fighting back against stalkers
In 2017, Perrette revealed her decade-long ordeal with a stalker.
Without giving specific details about her case, Perrette said she quote "100 percent"
believes her life is in danger.
According to CBS, it was only after the the tragic shooting death of singer Christina
Grimmie that she could overcome her fear, and finally speak out.
"Stalking is such a cruel crime.
It's a theft."
Along with California Congressman Adam Schiff, Perrette now works to strengthen existing
laws related to stalking, as well as to combat new ways that stalkers are harassing their
victims.
Perrette told CBS,
"[Stalking laws had] not been updated in 20 years.
In that 20 years, so much has happened — mainly the internet."
Dedication to the job
"I will always be grateful for just the incredible honor of playing Abby."
Perrette is arguably best known for her NCIS character's signature black hair.
But the actress is actually a natural blonde.
For years, Perrette dyed her hair black to maintain her character's look.
But in 2014, Perrette revealed to Extra that she had developed an allergy to the hair dye.
She shared just how bad the reaction had become, tweeting "I almost died from Black Hair Dye
Allergy."
The solution ended up being Elumen, which Perrette tweeted about, describing it as a
quote, "ionic infusion of color, not dye."
So why didn't producers just write it into the show that her character becomes a blonde?
At the time, Perrette told Queen Latifah,
"I don't think the world is ready for a blonde Abby.
I'm not ready for a blonde Abby."