ABC announced on Thursday that it would not air the new season of “The Bachelorette” this spring after the leak of a 2023 video showing the show’s lead, Taylor Frankie Paul, attacking an ex-boyfriend. The extraordinary 11th-hour decision to cancel the already filmed season of television has had a ripple effect, with consequences for influencers, podcasters and fans of the franchise.
In early March, Jamila Bell, a content creator in Atlanta, was approached by an agency offering to pay her to record an ad for social media. The purpose of the video: to promote the coming season of “The Bachelorette” starring Ms. Paul, who first found fame on TikTok and later on the reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Ms. Bell, who frequently posts content about reality television, though not yet this particular franchise, said she felt the promotion was a good fit and agreed to participate. After some back and forth with her representative, Ms. Bell said she and the agency agreed on a script in which she would “drive home” the fact that the new Bachelorette, like Ms. Bell herself, was a single parent.
“As a single mom myself, I live for seeing single moms win,” Ms. Bell said in the video, which she posted to Instagram and TikTok on Tuesday. “I just know Taylor is going to find love this season. I can’t wait to see it.” Ms. Bell declined to disclose the name of the agency that contracted her or say what she was paid for the ad.
Adrianna Brown, another content creator, posted a video this week similar to Ms. Bell’s, using language about dating as a single mother. (Representatives for Ms. Brown did not respond to requests for comment.) Both videos included a hashtag labeling it as a paid promotion as well as the hashtag #ABCPartner.
The video showing Ms. Paul in a violent altercation with her ex, Dakota Mortensen, came on the heels of reports of another domestic violence incident that the police in Draper, Utah, contacted Ms. Paul and Mr. Mortensen about late last month.
The Draper police confirmed this week to The New York Times that there was an open domestic violence investigation related to Ms. Paul and Ms. Mortensen.
After the 2023 episode, Ms. Paul was charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child. Her an arrest was featured prominently in the first season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The newly released video of the same incident, however, appeared to change the calculation for ABC.
A spokesman for Disney, ABC’s parent company, did not respond to questions over email or a text message seeking comment.
Ms. Bell, who posted her ad on both Instagram and TikTok, moved to address the situation. By Friday afternoon, both ads had been removed.
Still, she was somewhat “frustrated” by the experience, she said. “You know, the content creators that you bring in, sometimes we get the heat.”
Across social media, users reacted to the news.
Brianna Wood, 34, a therapist and content creator from Seattle, said she wasn’t surprised when Ms. Paul was announced as the next Bachelorette. Ms. Wood, a regular reality television viewer, said she could see how Ms. Paul’s history might compel people to watch.
“They tend to cast problematic people — I think very intentionally — because they know it will drive up viewership, and their viewership has declined a lot in the past 10 years,” Ms. Wood said in an interview on Thursday. On TikTok, the day before, she described years of controversies that have plagued the show, saying that “problematic” contestants had long been part of the show’s brand.
Alexis Sinuon, 22, a day care worker who lives in Tyngsborough, Mass., said she had never watched “The Bachelorette” before. But as a fan of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” she said she had been excited to watch this season purely because of Ms. Paul.
Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, hosts of the podcast “Love to See It” who have long covered all things Bachelor Nation, said the fandom’s initial reaction to Ms. Paul’s casting was trepidation.
“There was some understandable, real concern about their decision to cast Taylor Frankie Paul, given what we did know about the fact that she had pled guilty to aggravated assault,” Ms. Gray said. Still, Ms. Gray described Ms. Paul as an “incredibly compelling figure” who had the potential to bring new audience members, like Ms. Sinuon, into the fold.
“The show gambled on the fact that it was better to have a controversial choice that would bring a lot of interest rather than someone safe who would not bring as much interest,” Ms. Fallon said.
When TMZ published the leaked footage of the attack on Thursday, Ms. Fallon said the fandom quickly aligned behind the idea that canceling the season was the right choice for the network. Many are now wondering, given Ms. Paul’s history, why the decision was made to cast her in the first place.
“It seems clear to a lot of people that there was a lot of financial gain involved in the calculus,” Ms. Fallon said.
“I think for a lot of fans, it just sort of feels like, How can the show continue after this? Does that mean they wouldn’t watch if the show tried to reboot and do a new season?” she said. “Maybe some of them would, but I do think that there is a sense among a lot the fandom that this is the end.”
Madison Malone Kircher is a Times reporter covering internet culture.
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