“Cancel The Show!” – Fans Rage Over ABC Casting Taylor Frankie Paul as Bachelorette After Her Controversial Past Resurfaces
ABC’s newest Bachelorette pick is already setting the internet on fire — and not in a good way.
Taylor Frankie Paul, the 31-year-old star of Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and #MomTok sensation, revealed her big Bachelor Nation debut on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, saying, “It has not hit me. Right now in this moment, I’m just thinking about it and it’s not real.” She added, “It’s not real. It’s not going to be until I have the limos [full of suitors] pulling up.”
But fans aren’t celebrating — they’re digging up Taylor’s very messy past and calling for ABC to cancel her season altogether. Social media is ablaze with clips of her 2023 arrest after a violent domestic incident that made national headlines.
Taylor, who first made waves after admitting to “soft swinging” and divorcing her husband on TikTok, was arrested on February 17, 2023 and charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury, and criminal mischief.
According to police reports, Taylor allegedly tried to fight her boyfriend Dakota Mortensen — throwing a phone, wooden playset, and even “heavy metal chairs” at him. Video evidence reportedly showed Taylor kicking him, putting him in a chokehold, and hitting him with a metal barstool three times. One of those times, the chair hit her own child.
Taylor later admitted, “I don’t owe anyone an explanation besides the people involved,” explaining she took a plea deal and had to check in with the court to prove she was “still doing better.” She added, “As much as I wish that night had went differently, I felt like hitting rock bottom actually helped me in some ways. Made me seek help that I wasn’t getting.”
Viewers aren’t just upset about Taylor’s messy past — they’re furious at ABC and Disney as a whole.
Many users pointed out that the network recently pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air following his controversial comments about Charlie Kirk, sparking accusations of political censorship. “First you silence Jimmy Kimmel over Charlie Kirk, now you give a domestic abuser a whole Bachelorette season? Disney, Hulu, ESPN — I’m done,” one user raged on X.
Others are calling it “hypocrisy at its finest,” saying ABC can’t claim to care about morality and then hand the lead role of The Bachelorette to someone with a documented domestic violence arrest.
Some fans are even urging advertisers to pull their spots from the show until ABC “takes accountability.” People online are also accusing the network of “pushing Mormon and purity culture” on viewers.
ABC hasn’t commented on the backlash yet, but Bachelor Nation is divided — some are saying Taylor deserves a second chance, while others are promising they won’t be tuning in.
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Nancy Zhāng is an Entertainment Blogger for All About The Tea. Nancy covers hot topics, recaps and celeb news. She loves to multi-task as a writer and a private chef. She received a B.S. in Mass Communications from LSU. Nancy’s married and the proud mom of 2 German Shepherds.
