The once-dominant influencer is under investigation for domestic violence. The latest season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette” has been canceled after a video surfaced online of its star, Taylor Frankie Paul, throwing chairs at her ex-boyfriend in front of her child in 2023. “The Bachelorette” was set to premiere on Sunday, and Paul was already doing interviews for the show when Disney, ABC’s parent company, announced the cancellation. A Disney Entertainment Television representative stated, “In light of the newly released video just 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.”
Paul is a #MomTok influencer with over 6 million followers and the star of Hulu’s reality series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The show’s production for its fifth season was recently halted after reports emerged that Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, were being investigated by police in Draper City, Utah, for an alleged February domestic violence incident.
The 2023 video, released by TMZ, shows Paul kicking Mortensen and putting him in a chokehold while her young daughter is nearby on a couch. Paul then starts throwing metal chairs at Mortensen. One chair appears to graze the child, who begins crying. Paul was arrested after the incident on suspicion of domestic violence. She has stated in interviews that the charges were dropped. Her public relations team criticized Mortensen, saying, “Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.”
Social media responded in shock to the video and Disney’s decision to hire Paul after previous allegations. Paul expressed disappointment about how the allegations would affect the show. “Just the timing is hard, and it’s a big deal. I feel like every premiere that I’ve experienced, I’ve never enjoyed fully, so this is another one … it’s extremely hard, and it took everything to get me here today,” Paul said. She wants to focus on the opportunities she has, despite the circumstances.