An upcoming season of “The Bachelorette” was pulled on Thursday, a spokesperson for Disney said, after a video of its star attacking the father of one of her children was leaked.
Taylor Frankie Paul, a reality star who was slated to star in a season of the show set to air on Sunday, has been under scrutiny in recent days after it emerged that she was facing a domestic violence investigation, years after pleading guilty to aggravated assault in a separate encounter.
Disney’s ABC, which broadcasts “The Bachelorette,” had appeared to be committed to continuing its plans to air the show. But on Thursday, TMZ published leaked footage of a physical altercation from 2023 in which Ms. Paul is shown putting her partner in a headlock and throwing metal chairs at him.
“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,” the Disney spokesperson said in a statement, “and our focus is on supporting the family.”
The police in Draper, Utah, have confirmed that there is an ongoing domestic violence investigation related to Ms. Paul and the man seen in the video, Dakota Mortensen, who is now her ex-boyfriend.
ABC was aware of the domestic violence charge from 2023 when it cast Ms. Paul. She rose to television fame on the reality series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” and its first episode included police body camera footage of that arrest. Producers of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” have faced past criticism for failing to properly vet contestants, but this is the most significant fallout in the franchise’s history.
Shivani Gonzalez and John Koblin contributed reporting.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
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