ABC pulls "The Bachelorette" after video of assault emerges
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Taylor Frankie Paul. Photo: Sami Drasin/Disney
ABC is scrapping the upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" after a video surfaced showing its lead, Utah influencer Taylor Frankie Paul, assaulting her then-boyfriend.
Catch up quick: The cancellation just three days ahead of the show's premiere comes after TMZ on Thursday published a 2023 video taken by Dakota Mortensen, with whom Paul shares a 2-year-old son.
- Warning: the video is disturbing. In it, Paul is seen putting Mortensen in a head lock, kicking him and throwing barstools in his direction.
- The video appears to show one of the barstools striking a child, who TMZ identified as Paul's daughter and who can be heard crying.
The big picture: ABC was aware of Paul's 2023 domestic violence case involving Mortensen, in which she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, before she was cast on the reality TV franchise.
- The video appears to align with descriptions of the 2023 case.
- The show's fate has been in question since a Draper Police Department spokesperson confirmed to People earlier this week that it is conducting a "domestic violence investigation" involving Paul and Mortensen in a separate incident that occurred last month.
- Paul appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" Wednesday to respond to the allegations.
- "I'm a person that will always speak their truth, and that's what I'm known for — and so when the time is right, I will be," Paul said.
What they're saying: Citing the video, "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," a Disney spokesperson told Axios SLC in a statement.
- "Taylor is very grateful for ABC's support as she prioritizes her family's safety and security," a spokesperson for Paul told People after news broke of the show's cancellation.
Between the lines: "Time, energy and resources will have been poured into the making of the show, and pulling it at the last minute will have been a costly exercise. But not as costly, perhaps, as running it," said Amber Melville-Brown, global head of media and reputation at law firm Withers.
What we're watching: It's unclear if Disney, ABC and Hulu's parent company, is terminating its relationship with Paul altogether.
- She currently stars on Hulu's "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," which paused production of its fifth season in the wake of the more recent domestic violence allegations.