The Bachelorette Season 22 Cancelled After Assault Video Leak
The 22nd season of the hit TV show the Bachelorette was cancelled after a 2023 video of Bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul assaulting her ex-boyfriend was leaked.
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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in August 2023 regarding the incident, according to TODAY. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the season had already finished filming when TMZ released 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 Entertainment Television spokesperson said, according to ABC News.
Reality TV fans expressed shock and disappointment online upon hearing the cancellation. Some observers suggested the cancellation reflects a growing trend of networks prioritizing accountability over airing completed content.
Warner Bros., the production company, declined to comment on the cancellation. Pulling season 22 is expected to result in a significant financial loss for Disney, due to license fees paid to the Warner Brothers. Television executives were reportedly aware of Paul’s domestic violence charge when casting, as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives featured police body camera footage of her arrest in its first episode. Producers of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have faced criticism in the past for poorly vetting contestants.
Paul first gained public attention in 2022 when she announced that she and her husband were divorcing after “soft swinging” with other Mormon couples in the Salt Lake City area. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered in 2023, following the lives of Paul and her MomTok group.
The news sparked conversations about ethics and responsibility in reality television.
“I do believe that TV networks are supposed to check contestants’ backgrounds because if it was a man, the show would be canceled, and he would probably be in jail,” said Zara Abdullah. “So to see that she's not in jail for throwing a chair at her significant other in front of her daughter— putting her daughter in harm's way, and creating a toxic situation for everyone in the house— I do think the network needed to step in.”
One student connected the season’s cancellation to popular romance reality tv show Love Island, which previously went viral for the exposed controversies of certain contenders.
“And that's the reason why half the stars from Love Island got kicked off because they were not looking into their past,” Abdullah added. “We need to start background checking all these people.”
