Whenever a TV show becomes a success, that is something that everyone involved wants to reproduce. For that reason, whenever a TV show becomes a hit, it seems like only a matter of time before someone will suggest a spin-off. Sadly, however, even though there have been some truly great spin-offs, most of them are awful. Fortunately for NCIS fans, its New Orleans-based spin-off enjoyed a great deal of success during its seven-season run.
Given the fact that most actors can only dream of starring in a hit show, it should be a dream come true for anyone who pulls off that feat. Sadly, however, that dream can often turn into a nightmare for several reasons including the fact that many co-stars who are pals onscreen can’t stand each other in real life. As bad as that seems, one NCIS: New Orleans star has revealed that their time starring in the show was even worse since they suffered “physical damage” on the show’s toxic set.
The NCIS Franchise Has Been Been The Subject Of Drama In The Past
Since there have been three NCIS shows to date, with plans for another two spin-offs in the works, a lot of actors have been associated with the franchise. For the most part, those actors have made it seem like they enjoyed their experience with the franchise. For example, a lot of NCIS stars have talked about admiring Mark Harmon, the star of NCIS.
Even though many of Mark Harmon’s past co-stars have sung his praises, it is very clear that one actor really didn’t like working with him. After all, it has been reported that after Harmon brought his dog on set and it bit a crew member, Pauley Perrette objected when Mark tried to bring the animal to work again. Even though her objection was reasonable if all of the details of that story are accurate, that event resulted in so much tension between them that Harmon and Perrette refused to film together.
Not too long after the NCIS dog incident and the resulting tension, Pauley Perrette suddenly left NCIS. In fact, after briefly starring in another show, Perrette announced she had retired from acting. Even though Perrette never blamed her decision to retire on the NCIS set drama, it seems likely there was some connection at least.
Shalita Grant Revealed The “Physical Damage” She Suffered On The Set Of NCIS: New Orleans
When the third season of the show You debuted in 2021, a lot of fans were excited to find out what would happen next. If you asked most people what part of that season they were looking forward to the most before it was released, the name Shalita Grant wouldn’t have come up. After all, the show has almost entirely revolved around the main character Joe and the people he becomes obsessed with in the past. As it turns out, however, Grant’s portrayal of Sherry Conrad, a social media-obsessed woman that the show’s main character couldn’t stand was one of the season’s highlights. The reason for that is that Grant was fantastic in the role.
When Shalita Grant was in the process of promoting You’s third season, she made an appearance on the talk show, Tamron Hall. During that appearance, Grant was asked about her decision to quit NCIS: New Orleans after four seasons even though the show was a hit. Tragically, Grant revealed that she felt forced to make that extremely difficult decision because of the way she was treated on the NCIS: New Orlean’s set.
When most people think about racism, they envision acts of violence or people saying offensive things. In reality, however, racism is a lot more insidious than that. For example, it has been common for hair treatment products that are designed for African American hair to require an employee to unlock them. At the same time, all of the other hair products sold in the same store can be taken off the shelf without assistance. Similarly, many black actors have revealed that onset hairdressers have no idea how to handle their hair.
During her appearance on the talk show, Tamron Hall, Shalita Grant revealed that because of her race, she was treated differently by NCIS: New Orleans’ hair department than her co-stars. Worse yet, the way Grant’s hair was treated did serious damage to her hair. “I had started documenting some of the physical damage that was going on — it’s harder to document the emotional damage.”
“Anybody who was a fan of the show, you knew Percy’s ponytail looked different every week — sometimes within the episode. What you didn’t know was what was going on with me, with my natural hair.” “In six months time, I had already had a bald spot in my head from season 2. In the front of my hair, I was threatening baldness.”
Of course, it should go without saying that nobody should be forced to go bald due to an acting role. However, some people may still write off Grant’s concerns about her hair out of ignorance since they aren’t thinking about the implications of her struggle to keep her hair. After all, Grant revealed that the situation forced her to get her hair done offset before showing up to work. Worse yet, when Grant and her co-stars didn’t want to do something that would mess up their hair, Shalita says she is the only one who was labeled “difficult”. As Grant went on to remark on the situation, being called “difficult” “for a black woman in the business is a death sentence”.