The actual video is much worse than what's described in the article. In the actual video which you can watch on X here, Taylor Paul can be seen grabbing Dakota Mortensen's hair, trying to strangle him, then trying to kick and punch him. Then, she throws two bar stools at him from across the room. Finally, she throws a third one at the 37 second mark, you can hear their daughter starting to cry, although it's unclear whether she was actually hit by the stool, although the poster claims she was. I'm not saying Dakota is necessarily completely innocent, but such behavior is completely inexcusable.

Obviously, she's proven herself to be nothing but a massive liability for the network. Once something threatens to create serious PR issues and/or trouble with corporate sponsors and advertisers, it's generally dropped like hot coal. A decision to axe something so heavily promoted and invested in would never have been taken lightly.

Last edited by tdotwriter (March 20, 2026 3:13 pm)

So what is ABC putting on it its place? A rerun of American Idol. Not a long term solution, but at least it covers them this weekend.

Easily Amused wrote:

North American viewers will have to find something else to aid and abet in the lowering of their collective IQs. 🤨

There is no shortage of such programming available to do that.

Siri, play Bruce Springsteen's 57 Channels And Nothing On.

Last edited by ckg927 (March 20, 2026 4:12 pm)

I'm guessing the couple in question have since divorced or why is a married woman appearing on  The Bachelorette ? I've never watched any of this hokey crap so not familiar with contestant rules. 

You have to wonder how this even got to this stage. My wife worked on a reality show and the vetting they did for contestants was hard core. A few of them were rejected based on their history, which takes a bit of digging to find, but is doable. There’s professional sleuths out there, so no excuse for such a major screwup. I think Citytv airs this in Canada, guess we’ll be seeing a few Hudson & Rex reruns from them!

RadioActive wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

I'm trying to think if this type of situation has ever happened before. But I can't come up with anything. And yet I can't help but feel it has.  

Turns out there are other examples and chances are good you've never heard of any of them, because they never aired.

 8 Reality TV Shows That Got Canceled Before They Aired

I would definitely would not have watched any of those shows. I don't watch any of the reality stuff that currently fills a great deal of the network primetime schedules now.

One source indicates he's been told ABC will finally run this already in-the-can controversial "Bachelorette" series off in the summer. 

According to the source:

"It’s gonna air on ABC this summer. Now ABC’s upfronts are coming next week. My guess is that’s when they will announce they’ve officially moved forward and are going to play Taylor Frankie Paul’s season this summer on ABC.”

I have never watched a single episode of this show and it's a terrible series IMHO. But you can bet it will be a ratings bonanza as the curious tune in to see what the woman at the centre of the controversy is all about. 

Report: Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘The Bachelorette’ Season to Air This Summer

I actually hope these episodes actually do air. Like RA, I have never seen a single episode of the series and definiely won't begin now. But for those who do enjoy this type of programming it should still should be made available to them. Like always, I have  the choice, not to watch.