ABC may continue airing Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette — the network faces losses of “tens of millions” of dollars in the wake of her devastating domestic violence video, Page Six reports.
Experts say the Disney-owned network licenses the show from producer Warner Bros. and could owe the studio between $50 million and $70 million if the show doesn’t air.
“ABC left room in their statement to bring[the show]back. They didn’t take it off the air. They just paused it,” one industry source told Page Six.
In fact, ABC said in a statement that it has “made the decision not to bring forward” Paul’s season.
Executives chose the “Mormon Wives” star for the lead role even though she was arrested in 2023 on charges of misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child after a fight with ex Dakota Mortensen.
Although her background is public, “executives are under pressure to give recognition,” the person said. “It’s all about money and the ability to make money.”
Another Hollywood insider believes that if Paul can redeem himself, the public may be willing to forgive.
“I really feel that Americans would love a comeback story…if Taylor has the right will to want to resolve this situation,” a Hollywood source said. “We’ve been reading about toxic relationships all our lives, and this seems like a very toxic relationship that she needs to understand, and so does[Mortensen].
“ABC has to figure out how to air this show. If it were you (Paul), you’d be trying to rehabilitate.”
Page Six has reached out to ABC, Warner Bros. and Paul’s representatives.
Mortensen won temporary custody of Eber last week, but a court hearing will be held in the next two weeks where Paul will reportedly fight to get his son back.
Page Six previously revealed that the 31-year-old found love during her season of The Bachelorette with California lifeguard and surfer Doug Mason, 28, but the fate of that relationship is up in the air.
The divorced mother of three took a plea deal in 2023 for aggravated assault charges and all other charges were dropped. If she meets the terms of the agreement, the charge will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor after 36 months.
Even though ABC knew this, they continued to film “The Bachelorette.” However, the network canceled the entire series just three days before it was scheduled to air after TMZ released video footage of Paul throwing a chair at Mortensen in front of her then-5-year-old daughter Indi, whom she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul.
Weeks before the video was released, NBC News reported that the cast of “Mormon Wives” expressed concerns about continuing with Paul on Hulu’s hit reality series. This happened during a 30-minute Zoom call with three Disney executives, including Rob Mills, executive vice president of unscripted and alternative entertainment for Walt Disney Television.
They reportedly expressed concern about the future of the show amid a new alleged domestic incident between Paul and Mortensen in February.
NBC reports that when the cast members shared accounts of Paul’s alleged behavior, including a video recording that called it “harrowing” and “upsetting,” Mills responded, “I don’t really know, and I don’t really want to know. … This isn’t me poking my head in, but it’s not me. You know, I don’t want to ask the question, because I don’t know what it means.”
Cast members said they were “concerned” that no one at Disney or Hulu seemed to want to know what was in the video.
“I think Rob Mills is sink or swim,” one industry source told Page Six.
People close to newly promoted Disney TV boss Debra O’Connell also speculated that Mills may be responsible for the scandal. “I thought the Rob Mills audio tape was disappointing. No one likes expensive, unforced mistakes and self-inflicted embarrassment,” the source said. “Rob is well-liked and has amassed some good will, but this is bad and someone will pay the price.”
Licensing a show involves paying a license fee, often with a structured payment schedule tied to key production milestones such as filming, production, and final delivery of the content.
If “The Bachelorette” does not air, ABC will owe Warner Bros. a huge debt.
Rachel Lindsay from season 13 of The Bachelorette declared that she “thinks it’s over” regarding the future of the series following Paul’s debacle.
She said on the podcast: “I was trying to think of different scenarios, because this isn’t just, ‘Oh, I put everything on one person. This person did this.'” This system allows for this.
“The names ‘Bachelorette’ and ‘Bachelor’ are tarnished at this point,” Lindsay, 40, said. “How do you move forward beyond that? You can’t do that.”
Meanwhile, Hollywood expert Matt Belloni wrote on Pack that Disney’s new head of content, Dana Walden, and O’Connell both approved Paul’s appointment.
A “more interesting” question is how the scandal will affect new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro’s tolerance for ABC, he wrote, raising the question of whether it’s really worth it for Disney to keep ABC around.
“The point is, network television is already failing,” the O’Connell source said. “This is like burning the remaining money.”
