ABC Pulls Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘The Bachelorette’ Season After Dakota Mortensen Fight Video Surfaces

ABC has officially pulled the plug on Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette days before the premiere.

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, 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 spokesperson told TMZ.

Season 22 of the reality dating series was set to premiere on Sunday, March 22.

The network’s decision came just hours after a disturbing video of Paul, 31, and ex Dakota Mortensen in a violent altercation surfaced online.

TMZ shared a clip from a 2023 fight between the former couple that led to the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star’s arrest.

In the video, which was recorded by Mortensen, Paul is seen punching and kicking her ex before picking up and hurling metal barstool at him. One of the barstools stuck Paul’s daughter, Indy, whom she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul.

Indy, who would have been just 5 years old at the time, was sitting on the couch when she was hit by a flying barstool. Though she cannot be seen on camera, viewers can hear the child crying and Mortensen, 33, saying, “Your daughter just got hit in the head with a metal chair.”

Authorities later arrived at the home and spoke with Paul, which was included in season 1 of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The Momtok founder — who shares son Ever, 2, with Mortensen — was arrested on February 17, 2023, and later charged with one felony count of aggravated assault and two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, along with one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and criminal mischief.

Paul accepted a plea deal in August 2023 that saw her plead guilty to a third-degree felony count of aggravated assault, while her other four charges were dropped with prejudice, the Salt Lake Tribute reported at the time.

The charge would drop to a Class A misdemeanor if Paul adhered to the terms of her plea agreement for three years, including abstaining from alcohol or illegal drug use.

Following the release of the video, a rep for Paul told TMZ, “It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child. Releasing an old and selectively edited video on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.”

“Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show and from their own experiences,” the rep added.