Inside The Legal Fallout That Can Come From ABC Cancelling “The Bachelorette”
Disney/ABC executives made the shocking decision to yank the newest season of “The Bachelorette” days before its planned premiere of March 22, and there is MUCH that can happen because of that decision.
Video hit the Internet from Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2023 domestic assault on ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, who filmed the altercation, and the arrest. The biggest piece of that being that arrest and the charges she faced were no secret to ABC. In fact, the arrest was featured on the first episode of Paul’s other show, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” in 2024. A legal analyst tells Access Hollywood that could actually mean Paul could file legal action AGAINST ABC. There could be a case if they knew about her background and forged ahead with her as their lead anyway, only to ultimately pull the season from the lineup.
That legal action could also go against Paul and include her ex-husband, Tate Paul, with whom she shares her oldest two kids. Their daughter was the child that was hit by a chair in the video of Paul assaulting Mortensen, so he could file to change their custody agreement. Mortensen also now has temporary custody of their son together, Ever.
And then there are the men in Paul’s “Bachelorette” season who will never get their time on air, and the many advertisers that spent money on the show. The legal recourse for that could be extremely costly for the network. Filming has also halted on the next season of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” for the time being.