She has a valid excuse. Pauley Perrette missed the CBS Upfronts on Thursday, May 16, but it’s not because she wanted to. It turns out the former NCIS star, who played Abby Sciutto from 2003 to 2018, was in the hospital.
The 50-year-old actress tweeted a photo of herself in a medical facility. “Well, this was my night!” she shared at 7 a.m. Thursday. “No worries, clean bill of health. Just a chance to wear a beautiful gown!”
Well this was my night! No worries, clean bill of health. Just a chance to wear a beautiful gown! pic.twitter.com/lpq209pr3e
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) May 16, 2019
In the pic, Perrette sports a hospital gown with a pink and purple-ish pattern over gray sweats and a bloody IV in her right arm as she lounges in a hospital bed. She did not explain in her caption why she was hospitalized.
Perrette is making her return to TV on CBS for the 2019/2020 season with comedy Broke. It is her first show since quitting the long-running CBS procedural, alleging via Twitter that she suffered “multiple physical assaults” during her time on NCIS.
The network responded in a statement at the time saying that she had come forward with a “workplace concern” and that CBS “took the matter seriously and worked with her to find a resolution.”
While Perrette wasn’t able to attend the network’s upfront presentation in New York City Thursday, she did share the teaser for her new show, Broke, on Twitter Wednesday night.
My new show! Love everyone so much! And it’s so funny! Trailer: https://t.co/LyJtLEOagq
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) May 16, 2019
Her new costars Natasha Leggero and Jaime Camil, who are featured in the teaser, also opened up about her return to the small screen at the upfronts.
“I think Pauley had a lot of choices. She was very passionate about doing comedy,” Leggero told People about the actress’s new project. “She really wanted to do a family comedy.”
“I think she fell in love with the writing. It’s brilliant,” Camil added to the magazine. “She waited one year to pick the right project — as you know, she’s a global, massive star, one of the most beloved American actresses in this country — so the fact that she chose us makes us very happy.”
