NEED TO KNOW

• ABC cancelled Taylor Frankie Paul‘s Bachelorette season hours after TMZ published a 2023 assault video
• Disney cast Paul in October despite her DV arrest being public record and a central Hulu storyline
• Paul’s rep says she has suffered years of abuse; Mortensen has filed a protective order against her

LOS ANGELES (TDR) — ABC pulled Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette Thursday, three days before its scheduled Sunday premiere, after TMZ published a 2023 assault video showing Paul punching, kicking, and throwing chairs at her then-partner Dakota Mortensen while their young daughter watched and cried.

The big picture: This cancellation is the latest rupture in a months-long domestic violence dispute between Paul and Mortensen that is now an active law enforcement investigation.

• Both parties have accused each other of abuse; Mortensen has filed a protective order against Paul
• Production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5 — also a Disney property airing on Hulu — has been paused since last week after cast members refused to continue filming

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Why it matters: A fully produced, fully promoted television season — cast, crew, sponsors, and 72 hours from air — collapsed in a single afternoon. The exposure Disney is absorbing now was entirely foreseeable.

• The contestants who filmed the season have no resolution and no public explanation beyond a one-sentence corporate statement
• Sponsor Cinnabon terminated its collaboration with both shows Tuesday, citing brand values; NBC cancelled Paul’s Tonight Show appearance the same day

Driving the news: Thursday’s sequence moved fast, and Disney’s response came only after public exposure made inaction impossible.

• TMZ published the 2023 video Thursday morning showing Paul striking Mortensen repeatedly while their daughter cried in the background
• Paul had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault from that incident in August 2025; four additional charges were dismissed
• Disney issued its cancellation statement hours after the video posted
• Paul had attended the Oscars red carpet Sunday and appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday — her press tour was still active when the network pulled the show
• A source connected to the production told TMZ no one at ABC had seen the video before it published Thursday morning

What they’re saying: Disney and Paul’s camp are telling sharply different stories — one positioning the network as protective, the other framing Paul as the victim in an ongoing pattern of abuse.

• Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson — “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 spokesperson — “After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and take back her narrative.”
• Paul’s rep added she is “very grateful for ABC’s support” and is “exploring all of her options” going forward
• Cast members of Mormon Wives told production they would not return to filming unless Hulu took direct action; one cast member confirmed publicly it was a collective decision

Yes, but: Disney didn’t discover Paul’s domestic violence history on Thursday. Her 2023 arrest was public before her casting and was a documented, filmed storyline in Mormon Wives Season 1, a series Disney owns and distributes.

• ABC greenlit Paul as lead, produced an entire season, and ran a full press tour with a new domestic investigation already underway
• The video made ignoring the known risk impossible — it did not create it

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Between the lines: Disney’s statement frames the pull as a response to “newly released” footage — language that positions the network as reactive rather than accountable for a casting decision made with full knowledge of Paul’s legal record.

• What goes unaddressed: why standard talent due diligence didn’t surface a guilty plea already on public record before a multimillion-dollar season was greenlighted and produced
• Reality television analyst Kate Casey, who has covered unscripted TV for more than 1,500 podcast episodes, told reporters the casting was “an experiment gone wrong” — a deliberate attempt to chase Paul’s 6.1 million TikTok followers and Mormon Wives crossover audience into a flagging franchise
• The experiment’s costs are landing on the cast, the crew, and the brand; the executives who approved it remain unnamed in any public accountability

What’s next:

• ABC has not announced a replacement season or new premiere date for the Bachelorette franchise
• Mormon Wives Season 5 remains on production pause with no restart date confirmed
• The active domestic assault investigation between Paul and Mortensen continues; no charges have been filed in the current incident
• Paul’s rep says she is preparing to “own and share her story”

When a studio knowingly builds a season around talent with documented legal history — and the season implodes days before air — who inside the institution is accountable for the decision, and what would accountability actually look like?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ, official statements by Disney Entertainment Television, and reporting by USA Today / KSAT.

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