ABC is in crisis after pulling the premiere of season 22 of The Bachelorette from its schedule following a domestic violence investigation into star Taylor Frankie Paul, and moved quickly to remove as much of the show’s promotional material as possible from its website.
Within hours of ABC’s announcement, the network removed the Season 22 trailer (with the caption, “Dare I say…the most dramatic season of The Bachelorette ever?”). Paul’s biography and rest of the cast list. And here’s a link to a special preview episode of “The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose” that aired on ABC after the Oscars on March 15.
However, as of this writing, the show’s trailer and dozens of other video clips and photos remain publicly available on internet platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
On YouTube, the ABC channel’s Bachelor Nation has a playlist of 33 videos (with over 1.1 million views), including trailers. The Bachelorette account on TikTok also continues to feature videos promoting season 22.
On Thursday, ABC’s official account for The Bachelorette reminded fans on Instagram and Facebook that Season 22 is scheduled to premiere on March 22nd, saying, “Attention Bachelor Nation: #TheBachelorette is airing Sundays! Don’t miss the season premiere this Sunday on ABC. Stream it on Hulu!”
The posts were published at 11 a.m. ET, less than five hours before ABC announced it would cancel the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette” on Sundays. As of Friday morning, the Tune In post was still active, along with dozens of photos and video clips from Season 22.
SEE ALSO: ABC stands to lose tens of millions of dollars if Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘The Bachelorette’ doesn’t air
“Well, this wasn’t that old,” one Instagram commenter said on the latest post, while former “Bachelorette” contestant Adam Gottschalk (who also appeared on “Bachelor in Paradise”) said, “It’s never too late to take it down 😬😬.”
Later on Thursday, Instagram added a “community note” to the user’s post above, citing a statement from Disney Entertainment Television about the show, saying, “In light of today’s newly released video, we have made the decision not to move forward with a new season of The Bachelorette at this time and are focused on supporting our family.” This is a reference to a video released by TMZ of a 2023 incident in which Paul appeared to attack ex-husband Dakota Mortensen by throwing multiple chairs at her.
The sudden hiatus of “The Bachelorette” intensified shortly after Disney’s brand new leadership team was officially installed Wednesday, led by CEO Josh D’Amaro and Dana Walden, who was elevated to the new role of president and chief creative officer. It’s also a sore point for longtime Disney executive Debra O’Connell, who Walden just promoted to the newly created position of chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.
Variety reported that ABC stands to lose tens of millions of dollars if Season 22 does not air, as Warner Bros.’ Unscripted TV, the company behind the reality TV series, pays licensing fees regardless of whether the show is released or not.
Below is Paul’s official bio for ABC, which the station has since removed from its site.
Taylor Frankie Paul is attracting attention as the lead actress on Season 22 of The Bachelorette. After sparking “MomTok” and making headlines for kicking off Salt Lake’s soft-swing scene on Hulu’s Emmy-nominated series “The Secret Life of Mormon Mrs.”, the 31-year-old Utah native is making a name for herself on Bachelor Nation and is trading her headline-grabbing heartbreak for a hometown date.
Paul is the breakout star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, captivating millions with her raw, unapologetic storytelling. Off screen, she’s a TikTok mogul with a huge following for her comedic, heartwarming, and brutally honest content. A single mother of three, Paul shares her unfiltered candor about life’s ups and downs. With her humor, resilience, and fearless candor, she inspires others to embrace life’s chaos and own their stories.
