Pauley Perrette publicly supports ‘NCIS’ ex-star amid new sexual harassment accusations

Following news of CBS paying considerable money to actress Eliza Dushku in a settlement over her sexual harassment accusations against her former “Bull” co-star Michael Weatherly, his “NCIS” friends came to his defense.

On December 13, the New York Times revealed that 37-year-old Dushku had been a target of sexual harassment by 50-year-old Weatherly and was secretly paid a $9.5 million settlement to keep her silent about the incidents.

According to the news outlet, the payment was roughly equivalent to what Dushku would have earned if she hadn’t been suddenly written off “Bull” in what she believes to be a retaliation for her reporting on Weatherly’s behavior.

Despite USA Today having confirmed the existence of the settlement, some of Weatherly’s former “NCIS” female co-stars have jumped to the actor’s defense in social media. Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

A couple of days after the news about the settlement surfaced, 49-year-old Pauley Perrette, who shared the screen with Weatherly on “NCIS” from 2003 to 2017, took to her Twitter account to share her feelings about the actor.

“This man... I love, respect, trust, and I KNOW. TWO decades of friendship and respect. The best. I love you @M_Weatherly Always and forever.”

-Pauley Perrette, USA Today, Twitter, December 15, 2018.

Weatherly left “NCIS” in 2016 after having played Anthony DiNozzo for 13 seasons to land the lead role on “Bull” on the same year.

In May 2018, Perrette announced her sudden departure from the police procedural she had been part of since its first season, raising many rumors about her reasons behind her decision.

45-year-old Sasha Alexander, who played the recurrent role of Caitlin Todd in the CBS drama on and off between 2003 and 2015, also used the social network to express her support for Weatherly.

“I have been in trenches w/ my friend ⁦@M_Weatherly. Always laughs, true friend & [a heart] as big as they come,” the “Dawson’s Creek” alum tweeted on December 15, captioning a selfie of the actor and her smiling to the camera.

It is not the first time when the off-screen close friendship between Perrette and Weatherly is proved in social media posts by the celebrity peers.

Back in May, when Perrette had her last appearance as forensic expert Abby Sciuto, Weatherly took to his Twitter account to post a video of himself praising his former co-star for her great final performance.

In the video, taken from a sidewalk, a visible touched Weatherly express his disbelief over the departure of the fan-favorite actress and character, saying: “I can’t believe Abby is leaving.”

Prior to the airing of the episode, Weatherly already posted a video on Instagram saying that he was going to be watching Perrette’s series finale with a box of Kleenex.