It’s Time to End the ‘Bachelor’ Franchise
The Hollywood Reporter • • entertainment
Key Points:
- ABC and Warner Horizon were aware of Taylor Frankie Paul’s guilty plea for aggravated assault in a 2023 domestic violence case before casting her as the lead for season 22 of The Bachelorette, yet proceeded with filming and promotion.
- The assault involved Paul throwing a metal chair that struck her then-5-year-old daughter during an altercation with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen; charges of domestic violence in the presence of a child and misdemeanor child abuse were dropped in exchange for her guilty plea.
- Despite the controversy, ABC heavily promoted the season, including airing a preview after the Oscars that drew over 5 million viewers, raising questions about whether the show would have been shelved if the assault video had not been made public.
