CBS' presentation at the Television Critics Association centred around one thing, and one thing only: the exit of Cote de Pablo from their hit show NCIS. de Pablo plays Ziva David in the fast moving crime drama, and her exit would be a huge loss for the fans and the show itself, such is her popularity. She’s leaving, but not without CBS throwing a bucket of cash over her head first.

Cote de PabloCote de Pablo has decided to move on

“I really want to clarify," CBS Corp CEO Les Moonves said, "we offered Cote de Pablo a lot of money, and then we offered her even more money because we really didn’t want to lose her. We love her. We think she was she was terrific." (HitFix)

Their was an odd twist to this presentation, though: before the reporters sat down, emails were popping into each and every one of their inboxes, imploring them to question Moonves on de Pablo’s exit, and suggesting that CBS undervalue their female talent by underpaying them.

“And we, obviously, were in discussions. And the rest of the cast and the producers were aware what’s going on. And ultimately she decided she didn’t want to do the show. It was purely her decision. We’re, obviously, getting a lot of emails. There’s a lot of Twitter buzz about her, and rightly so. She’s a wonderful lady," continued Moonves.

Cote de PabloThe fans aren't happy about her exit

The line of questioning clearly didn’t sit well with Moonves, who was facing the twin concerns of losing one of his best assets, and being accused of sexism. He "Look, 'NCIS,' the highest rated show on television last year,” he said, attempting to conclude the topic. “We don’t like losing anybody. But we did everything humanly possible. We feel like we exhausted every opportunity, and she just decided she didn’t want to do the show."