By Tiana Rosiak – Staff Reporter

In 2025, the hit dating show “The Bachelorette” announced the lead woman of its next season. By March of 2026, the same show released a statement sharing that they would be cancelling that same season just three days prior to the premiere date. Taylor Frankie Paul, the newest bachelorette, would be the reason for the program to lose millions post-production. Paul, a social media influencer and star of the Hulu original reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” would face immediate backlash after a new investigation and video surfaced around social media. In 2023, Paul had been arrested for assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a child, and in 2026, a new investigation into the domestic violence claims would begin. 

With the recent buzz surrounding both Paul and the show, a new question seems to linger: was it fair? While the cancellation of Paul’s season feels like a reasonable choice for the station to make, the lack of accountability that the media and creatives give to other celebrities is not.

Domestic violence, the main issue mentioned in Paul’s season cancellation, is an incredibly serious issue. Break The Cycle reports that one in four men in the United States have experienced severe physical violence from a partner, and for women, that same statistic goes up to one in every two women. The high number of individuals who experience domestic violence should be taken seriously, and for them to cancel her season due to this makes sense. While information still gets revealed every day and the full story is not available to the public yet, the evidence of Paul assaulting her former boyfriend in the presence of her then five-year old child is alarming.

Users on various social media platforms have expressed their dislike towards the cancellation. Some argue that they shouldn’t have hired her in the first place since her jail time was public knowledge, and others just wanted to view the season as it was portrayed as being “rule-breaking” in trailers. However, airing her season wouldn’t be a smart choice for ABC or Disney to make. The news only taints her season and brings a negative viewpoint on what was once highly anticipated. If anything, her cancellation should be compared to how little people have stopped the careers of others who have also done bad things in their past. Mark Wahlberg was arrested in 1988 for committing a hate crime against two Vietnamese men. Two years earlier, Wahlberg was again taken to court for assaulting three Black children with his friends, yet he still has a booming career. Logan Paul infamously uploaded a video in 2017 where he showed the dead body of a man who had taken his life in a forest. While the controversy may be referenced frequently, Paul was able to switch to a career in wrestling with ease. Numerous celebrities and politicians have been mentioned in the Epstein files or been close with Diddy, yet all they face is some backlash online.

The decision to not air Paul’s season was the right choice for the program to make in the wake of a horrific video. They not only avoided further controversy, but condemned her actions. For a dating show, it is incredibly important that they get the right people, and through cancelling this new season, they right some wrongs they’ve made in the past with former contestants.

The future of the Bachelorette is heavily speculated on. Through Paul’s controversy, many question if it’ll end the show altogether. However, ABC did what others have chosen not to do. While this choice cost them millions, they did what other creatives wouldn’t by removing someone after a serious investigation into their past actions.