ABC cancels Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ season
Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette has been canceled following the revelation of a “domestic assault investigation” by Utah State Police.
in front of the cameraTaylor Frankie Paul dated 22 men and slowly said goodbye to each eligible bachelor one by one, handing her final rose to one man.
But in an unprecedented moment in Bachelor Nation history, fans won’t be able to watch any of it, as ABC canceled the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette” just days before its scheduled premiere on Sunday, March 22.
The Disney-owned network has suspended its investigation due to Utah State Police’s ongoing investigation into a “domestic assault” involving the “Mormon Wife Secrets” star and her ex-partner Dakota Mortensen. Both suspects have admitted the charges. The cancellation of the season on March 19 came after TMZ released a shocking video showing a violent altercation between Paul and Paul in 2023, in which he yells at Mortensen, punches, kicks and throws furniture, and a child can be heard crying.
What does the sudden cancellation mean for ABC, the show’s production company, the 22 Bachelorettes, and Paul himself? USA TODAY interviewed legal experts to discuss the possible legal ramifications and the likelihood that the public would know about them.
Could ABC sue for refunds on ‘The Bachelorette’?
The contract between ABC and production company Warner Horizon Unscripted Television is not publicly known, but it is not inconceivable that ABC could sue to recover some of its funding.
ABC won’t profit from the lost season of The Bachelorette and could argue that Warner Horizon Unscripted Television failed to conduct a proper background check when casting Paul (if that was part of the deal), said attorney Ashley DiFantrum of the Los Angeles law firm Kinsella Hawley Iser Kamp Steinsapir.
Paul was arrested on February 17, 2023, after Mortensen called him to report that he was hitting Paul in front of their two children. In March 2025, she was charged with several charges, including one felony count of aggravated assault, two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and criminal mischief. Paul confirmed that filming for his season of The Bachelorette was completed in December.
DiFantrum told USA TODAY that production companies typically sign contracts with cast members, showrunners, staff and vendors that often include “broad language” requiring parties to agree not to do anything that could cause reputational damage.
“I definitely expect there will be some issues between the production company and Taylor Frankie Paul when it comes to the morals clause. I don’t know what the actual contract is, but that’s what I would expect,” she said. “Because as broadly as they’re written, typically they almost certainly include something like this.”
Has there ever been a legal battle over the cancellation of a reality show?
The 2009 reality dating season “Megan Wants a Millionaire” was canceled after contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins, who was wanted for the murder of his wife in Southern California, died by suicide before he could be arrested, Entertainment Weekly reported.
The show’s production company, 51 Minds, ended up paying VH1 $12 million for improper vetting of the Jenkins family, who were convicted of domestic violence in Canada.
Could ‘Bachelorette’ contestants file a lawsuit?
DiFantrum said it’s unlikely that the Bachelorette season 22 bachelorettes would sue over their episode not airing because reality TV contestants typically sign contracts that reserve the right for networks and production companies not to air their footage.
“Usually the contract says pretty clearly that this is the production company’s footage and they can do whatever they want with it, including never using it,” she said. “So I think it’s very rare for a contestant to be able to say, ‘Hey, I thought I was going to be in this,’ and win.
Could Taylor Frankie Paul sue or be sued?
Mr. Diphantorum also mentioned a hypothetical scenario of a lawsuit involving Paul as a plaintiff or defendant, but there is no strong indication that either is more likely.
“If she’s already been paid and the production company feels like she’s contractually obligated to pay back and she doesn’t want to pay back, that could be a lawsuit. … So theoretically anyone could sue,” Diphantorum said. “If she hasn’t been paid yet, or the company refuses to pay her, or believes she should be paid, she may become a plaintiff and sue the production company.”
However, Ms. Diphantorum, she thinks it is unlikely that Paul wants to be involved in a lawsuit at this time.
Can the lawsuit surrounding ‘The Bachelorette’ be resolved privately?
DiFantrum said the public could be unaware of the legal arguments surrounding the canceled season if the disagreements were “resolved without our knowledge.”
She mentioned that VH1 canceled Eve and Ocho in 2012 after filming the 11th episode just weeks before it aired. The series, which depicts the engagement of former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Evelyn Lozada, was canceled after Johnson was arrested for a domestic violence incident involving Lozada and later sentenced to 30 days in jail for a probation violation.
ABC’s “Welcome to the Neighborhood” was another show that was shelved before it aired. According to The Spokesman-Review, the series was canceled in 2005 less than two weeks before its premiere due to outrage over its premise. The series followed diverse families competing to win homes near Austin, Texas, to impress three conservative white families and determine which contestants were “fit” to live in the neighborhood.
As it turns out, there have been no reports of lawsuits from either cancellation, Diphantorum said.
Was ABC the right decision to cancel the season?
Sara Schmidt, a crisis management expert and president of Interdependence PR, said ABC made the right decision to cancel Season 22 of The Bachelorette, even though the entire situation remains financially and optically damaging.
“Yes, they are shelling out millions of dollars, but Disney is a family-run company, and ‘The Bachelorette’ is a family-oriented show. If they had stayed the course, the backlash would have been swift and significant,” Schmidt said in a statement to USA TODAY. “This is a show that sells the fantasy of finding true love, emotional security, and romantic possibilities. Casting someone with a record of violence, domestic violence, and frankly poor romantic judgment undermines that premise.”
Schmidt called the entire situation a case study of what happens when a franchise “prioritizes controversy over credibility.” She said the worst-case scenario is that this is “the beginning of the end for Bachelor Nation,” but at the very least this situation will force an overhaul of the vetting of contestants, especially leads, which she said “should have happened years ago.”
“This is a classic case of desperate casting gone wrong,” Schmidt said. “In this case, they chose to acquire a high-profile reality star. On the one hand, it was a calculated risk, and on the other hand, it was a gamble on brand credibility.”
