Fans were shocked when ABC abruptly canceled the 22nd season of The Bachelorette just days before its premiere. After a disturbing video of this year’s lead, Taylor Frankie Paul, surfaced online, the network expressed surprise and quickly pulled the plug.
In a post on X, Jillian Anderson, a former contestant on The Bachelor, highlighted ABC’s rigorous background checks, implying the network may have known about Paul’s past before casting her. Now, some are raising questions about why the show moved forward despite those warning signs.
As a former Bachelor contestant, I can tell you that ABC thoroughly vets every part of your personal history. Given that Frankie Taylor Paul already had a public profile, it’s hard to believe they didn’t know exactly who she was going in to this season.
— Jillian Anderson (@Jillie_Alexis) March 19, 2026
The Center of the Conflict
Taylor Frankie Paul is a social media influencer and reality television star, best known for her time on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The 2023 video allegedly shows Paul in a physical dispute with then-partner Dakota Mortensen. In the footage, Paul appears to be the aggressor. However, she later told police that Mortensen threw her to the ground before he began recording.
Taylor Frankie Paul – Bachelor Nation on ABC, YouTube
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This week, a spokesperson for Paul called the video “selectively edited” and claimed that it “conveniently omits context.” However, Page Six reports that Paul was arrested over the incident and charged with three felonies—one count of aggravated assault and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child. She was also charged with misdemeanor counts of child abuse and criminal mischief.
Taylor Frankie Paul – Call Her Daddy, YouTube
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As part of a plea deal, Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, which could be reduced to a misdemeanor after three years of probation. The other charges were dismissed. These are matters of public record, which Paul has openly discussed on podcasts while promoting her appearance on The Bachelorette.
The release of the video may have been the decisive factor in ABC’s decision.
ABC Responds
A Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday, “In light of the newly released video that surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.
The decision not to air the season comes amid broader strategic considerations and potential financial stakes for the entire company.
A Difficult Situation for Disney
Some industry experts have noted that the decision to cast Paul aligned with the network’s broader programming strategy. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives streams on Hulu, which, like ABC, is owned by Disney. Additionally, a special preview episode, The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose, aired on Sunday night immediately after the Oscars. At the time of this writing, it is still available to stream on Hulu.
Josh D’Amaro by the Tree of Life – Disney
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This comes at a difficult time for Disney. The company’s new leadership team, Josh D’Amaro and Dana Walden, stepped into their roles the day before the news broke. Additionally, Variety reports that “ABC stands to lose tens of millions of dollars if Season 22 doesn’t air, as the studio behind the reality TV franchise — Warner Bros. Unscripted TV — gets paid licensing fees regardless of whether the show gets released.”
Ultimately, D’Amaro and Walden’s response may hinge on one question: was this a failure of vetting, or a calculated risk gone too far? Anderson’s observations add weight to the scrutiny, suggesting the network’s decisions could face lasting debate. With controversy increasingly driving ratings, the line between oversight and strategy is becoming blurred.
Do you think ABC was aware of Taylor Frankie Paul’s past before the video? Why do you think they moved forward with casting her? Let us know in the comments!
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This bitch has 3 kids to 2 different men, is supposedly 31 but looks 50, and outed herself and every other whore on her other show “Mormon Wives” as degenerates that are all into the “swinging” lifestyle. This is what Disney’s top Jews think is “family friendly” and what the goyim should emulate. This is also why the heresy of Mormonism shouldn’t be tolerated, and they certainly shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves Christians. Their entire “religion” is just an excuse to be sexual degenerates, and it always has been.
Well said, a propaganda show, to pervert young people against a happy family life.
“stepped into their roles ”
Corporate twat-speak. Please, dear authors, stop sounding like some twatty corporate intranet.
The words to use, instead of “step” 🤮🤮🤮 , are “promoted” / “Demoted” / “Resigned” / Fired / Moved sideways / Failed-upwards etc.
All of those are a) more engaging, and b) contain vital context of what happened.
Journalists, Chat GPT is a better writer than you. English is an amazingly rich language, stop shitting all over it with twat-speak that sounds so sterile, so insipid, so inexpressive and so neutral, like Newspeak.
Women’s abuse is ignored. The only reason this is getting cancelled is the video evidence and the online backlash. She should be in jail.
That’s feminism. The hypocrites want their cake and to eat it.
I’m sorry, but Taylor Skanky Paul is ugly. And the fact that Disney has now lost millions by cancelling this just delights me to no end.