While talking to reporters about Cote de Pablo’s departure at the 2013 Summer TCA press tour, Pauley Perrette did not have anything negative to say about her co-star. She told E! News that she learned de Pablo was leaving shortly before the press did, so she was just as shocked as the show’s fans. “But we love her. She’s our friend. She had a personal decision to make,” She said. “No one wanted her to leave. There was no drama.”
However, Perrette just so happened to be wearing a t-shirt that had the words “I [heart] my job” emblazoned on it, which could have been construed as a response to de Pablo’s exit. She did, however, admit that her job dissatisfaction was a factor in her decision to quit. During a 2016 Q&A at Babson College, de Pablo shared her opinion that Ziva David “was not being treated with the respect that she deserved.” She also complained that the show’s scripts were not “good enough.”
Perrette doubled down on her “NCIS” love on Twitter, where fans discussed the intent of her message. “This a dig at cote leaving??” asked one person. “No offence, but the message on your t shirt? very poor taste,” another tweet read. We’re just hoping Perrette was sincere when she told Yahoo! that the cast supported de Pablo’s decision and had “nothing but love” for her after her abrupt exit.