Entertainment
Commentary: ABC thought Taylor Frankie Paul would amp ‘Bachelorette’ ratings. It was playing with fire
“What were they thinking?”
This is the question on everyone’s mind of “The Bachelorette’s” producers, ABC, Hulu and the Disney legal team.
On Thursday, ABC announced that the heavily promoted new season of “The Bachelorette,” scheduled to premiere Sunday, would not be moving forward “at this time.” Why not? Well, the Bachelorette in question, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, was the subject of a second domestic assault investigation as a damning video from her first, in which she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, made the rounds courtesy of TMZ. Filming for Season 5 of “Mormon Wives,” which Paul executive produces, was also abruptly halted.
The disturbing video is hard to watch. Not so much because Paul puts on-again, off-again partner Dakota Mortensen into a headlock and then pelts him with metal bar stools — sadly, this is a scene that would not be out of place on many reality shows — but because a small child is in the room. After one of the stools bounces toward the camera, Paul’s then-5-year-old daughter Indy begins crying and Mortensen later says “help your child.” Even as the child cries “Mommy,” Paul continues on her rampage. When Mortensen belatedly attempts to help Indy, Paul screams at him to “get away from my child.”
And while “Bachelorette” producers and Disney lawyers may not have seen the video, which was introduced in the 2023 court case, the police report makes it clear that Indy was injured during the incident, noting a “goose egg” on the child’s head. Paul was charged with aggravated assault, child abuse and domestic violence in the presence of a child. Paul, who said she had been drinking before the incident, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony. The other charges were dismissed and Paul, who was put on probation, submitted a plea of abeyance. In August 2026, a court will review the assault charge and, if Paul complies with the terms of her probation, could lessen it to a misdemeanor.
Should a new criminal charge be made after the current investigation, all bets are off.
So was it the emergence of the video or the possibility of a felony conviction that caused ABC to put this season of “The Bachelorette” on ice? Does the reason matter?
ABC knew that Paul had been charged in a domestic violence incident that led to the injury of her child and somehow thought she would make an excellent Bachelorette anyway.
What were they thinking?
“The Bachelorette” Season 22 billboard starring Taylor Frankie Paul is seen on Thursday — the day her season was axed.
(HIGHFIVE / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images via Getty Images)
They were thinking that audiences like messy “authenticity,” and it doesn’t get any more authentically messy than 31-year-old Paul, who climbed to social media fame by founding MomTok, a TikTok community of married Mormon women dancing, joking and pushing against the traditions and restrictions of their faith. Pretty and profane, funny and frank, Paul amassed a large following. After Paul discussed the “soft swinging” she and her husband engaged in with other Mormon couples, the group went viral and led to the creation of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” the first episode of which was titled “The First Book of Taylor.”
Chronicling the fallout from the “soft-swinging” scandal, the first season built on Paul’s frank discussions of her chaotic life; it was Hulu’s most-watched unscripted season premiere of 2024. The subsequent three seasons, in which the MomTokers deal with the pressures of fame, their romantic relationships and all manner of internal “Mean Girls” drama, have continued to grow the show’s audience even as ratings for “The Bachelor” franchise flagged.
To the algorithm, or a numbers cruncher, the hopes that Paul could bring some of the “Mormon Wives” magic to “The Bachelorette” might make sense.
Except Paul isn’t magic; she waves her red flags high and proud, and the good folks at ABC, Hulu and Disney charged at them with the oblivious desperation of so many trapped, maddened bulls. (It usually does not end well for the bulls either.)
The “soft swinging” led to her divorce from first husband, Tate Paul, with whom she has two children, including Indy. As chronicled on “Mormon Wives,” she began her turbulent relationship with Mortensen, with whom she shares a young son, Ever. Her 2023 arrest was a storyline — she called it one of the rock bottoms of her life, though in a recently resurfaced TikTok video, she brags about throwing things and being arrested — and in Season 4 she was found in bed with Mortensen, with whom she had allegedly broken up, on the morning she was supposed to fly to L.A. to film “The Bachelorette.” (She caught a later flight.) The season finale ended with the possibility that Paul might be pregnant.
Reality cross-pollination has become so increasingly popular — ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” couldn’t live without it, and Peacock’s hit show “The Traitors” is built on it — that there seems to be little thought given to the apples-versus-oranges fact that not every reality show is the same. “Bachelorette” producers not only ignored the misgivings voiced by their own fans, many of whom did not think Paul would be approaching the show as a truly single woman searching for love, they reportedly extended her many freedoms denied other participants, including unmonitored use of her phone during filming.
They clearly wanted the ratings miracle that Paul’s unvarnished wildness had lent “Mormon Wives.”
Casting for maximum drama is a driving force in many reality shows. Even if one accepts that perfectly reasonable people are happy to live in a bubble with strangers for months in hopes of achieving love, fame or a cash prize, someone inevitably is cast to bring the crazy, er, conversation-sparking personality. And like all of television, reality is facing splintered and waning audiences so the decibel level of that conversation-sparking is often dialed way up.
Hence the ascendancy of Taylor Frankie Paul, queen of MomTok and “Mormon Wives,” a woman known for her lack of filter and habit of putting it all out there. For the purposes of our entertainment.
There is, of course, no point in mentioning the many past, and often show-derailing, scandals of the genre — the suicides, the racism, the sexual assault, homophobia, bullying, pedophilia, infidelity and just general ghastliness that has arisen from the popularity of people sharing their “real” lives. Audiences connect with these shows, the messier the better.
But, as it turns out, some messes are too big to leverage even for forgiving eyeballs of reality fans.
“The Bachelor” franchise should have known better. It’s been around for almost a quarter-century and has suffered its fair share of scandals during those years. But drafting a woman who was convicted of assault in an incident that harmed her own child, well, “The Bachelorette” knew it was playing with fire.
Clearly they hoped she would rekindle the dying embers of the show.
Instead, she burnt it down.
Mr. Reset and The Society of Turnbuckle and Bone is a gripping sci fi horror/comedy featuring Vinny Pacifico, who is an ex-Ring of Honor Wrestler. What’s it about? What did we think about it? Read on for our spoiler free review!
But first? Take a look at the trailer!
Synopsis
Former Ring of Honor talent Vinny Pacifico stars as a rising indie wrestler lured by the promise of fame and fortune into a dark world of intense trials and sacrifice.
Rob Ryzin (ex-AEW), Bobby Fish (ex-NXT), Nick “Percy Watson” McNeil (ex-NXT), and Nick “Jamie Stanley” Stuible also star alongside writer-director Jedi Koszewski.
From The Press Release
The spectacle of professional wrestling grapples with psychological dread in Mr. Reset and The Society of Turnbuckle & Bone.
Full of gauzy, gorgeous imagery, a kaleidoscope palette, and themes that blend science fiction, body horror, and dark comedy, the surreal horror film explores a secret society that manipulates the wrestling industry from behind the scenes under the enigmatic Mr. Reset’s watchful eye.
Produced by Audacity Complex Studios, the film strips away the glitz of sports entertainment to reveal its psychological toll, while never shying away from the darkly comic moments that lurk in the industry’s shadows.
“This project holds special meaning for me because it brings together two of my greatest passions: horror and professional wrestling,” Pacifico commented. “Through this story, I’ve had the privilege of exploring authentic experiences within a fictional framework and shedding light on growing up in the entertainment industry.”
Here’s a look at the poster art!
My Thoughts
If you like movies that have a horror/conspiracy feel to them with a hint of creepy, this is the movie for you. The cast did a phenomenal job, and the storytelling was spot on. It also had a touch of breaking the 4th wall in there. This is a great film with a lot of drama, horror, and bad decisions. I will give a PSA to anyone who is sensitive to lights as it switches back and forth a lot. I like the news element to the movie and how it goes from 1st person to 4th person.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone under 13 because of the nature of the film and the tricks it can play on your mind. Also, it has body horror which younger viewers might not be able to handle. The gore and the trauma in the movie play on your mind and is not for the faint of heart. Excellent storytelling and the director did a phenomenal job. I highly recommend this B-list movie with a 9/10 for me based on the bizarreness of it and the great storytelling. Sometimes you need a reset.
Mr. Reset and The Society of Turnbuckle and Bone on VOD now!
Paul Avery, a journeyman actor best known for his role on “All My Children,” and his wife, Sheila, have died following a house fire. He was 81 and she was 77.
The couple’s death was confirmed by their daughters Parker Sanchez and Kyle Avery, who said the fire broke out in their home in Blairstown, N.J., early last Tuesday morning. While firefighters were able to reach Paul and Sheila inside the Mohican Road home, the couple succumbed to smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Paul had a recurring role playing Hughie the bartender at Foxy’s on the ABC daytime soap “All My Children” for 12 years. He also acted in the 1978 film “Superman,” “Three’s Company,” “Soap,” and appeared in more than 300 commercials. He also acted in theater productions and produced plays in both New York and Los Angeles.
According to his daughters, the actor joked that his “elastic face” landed him multiple national commercials that ran concurrently. Casting directors looking for a “Paul Avery type” would turn the actor away because he was in too many commercials.
“He had a teeny tiny part — one line in Superman — but boy did he make a meal out of that,” Sanchez joked.
Kyle Avery added that at the Oscars, they played a clip from “Superman” that featured Paul reciting his line.
“His good friend ran into the kitchen and made him an Oscar out of tinfoil and handed it to him,” she said. “But I think the thing that he was proudest of was that he could make a living as an actor.”
Paul Avery was born Oct. 8, 1941; and Sheila Avery was born May 22, 1949. Paul was raised in Indianapolis, served in the Vietnam War in his 20s and moved to Los Angeles and then New York by his late 20s to try to make it as an actor. Sheila was raised in Kansas City, Mo., and moved to New York where she worked as a registered nurse but also had a background in theater.
She studied the craft in college, performed on a USO tour in Vietnam and worked as a costume mistress.
According to the couple’s daughters, the two brought their Midwest charm and sensibilities to the East Coast.
The couple met while living in an apartment building filled with other journeymen actors in the late 1970s.
“They were all part of this theater community, people who would go from regional theater to regional theater with the season,” Kyle Avery said. “They were a whole troupe of people who’d be in New York for part of the year, but then they’d go and be in Lakewood, Ohio, or Kansas City or Chicago, just following the theater.”
Sheila was previously married to John Quincy Bruce Jr., also an actor in the New York theater community and the father of Sanchez. Sheila and Paul got together in 1982 and married in 1984. They celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary in April.
Paul was a jack-of-all-trades and master of many. He was a small plane pilot who often flew into a tiny airport in Blairstown, N.J., which is how the couple discovered the town they’d call home. There, they opened a bookstore, Cabbages and Kings. Paul also launched a magazine: the Warren County Companion. According to the couple’s daughters, Paul was the first internet service provider in town. He also penned film reviews for the New Jersey Herald and some for the New York Times as well.
Sheila found what her daughters called the “perfect job,” which brought together her work as a registered nurse and background in theater: speaking in schools about domestic violence and sexual assault. She also became a counselor who worked with survivors, and a trainer who worked with volunteers, teaching them how to interact with victims.
“People who took her training 20 years ago have been contacting us and saying, ‘Your mother changed the way I thought about the world, she is the basis for my feminism,’” Sanchez said. “It’s been so fascinating to hear the ripple effects of young women who took that training from her, and who are now middle-aged women who are still thinking about her.”
The daughters said that their parents were community icons who were dedicated to service. “They had a sense of duty to the people around them,” Kyle Avery said.
“They loved to throw parties,” Sanchez said. “They hosted an annual event called Faux Giving and they would have these insane traditions, like we would have a head-measuring contest and measure the circumference of people’s heads, and then a winner gets to eat their pie first, and a badge.
“Whoever had the smallest head, everyone there would shout, ‘Pin head! Pin head!’ at this person, and it was the silliest thing in the world, but everyone who attended that event, even if they came one time, would talk about it forever.”
Kyle Avery added, “They were incredibly memorable.”
“They were community builders, they were people who wanted to nourish you in every way, and they were so good at it.”
They are survived by their children: Kyle Avery; Parker Sanchez and her husband, Pablo; Paul Avery’s son from a previous relationship, Stuart Sutherland; and their grandchildren, Avery, Duncan and Liana.
The Get Out, 2026.
Directed by Derek Borte.
Starring Russell Crowe, Luke Evans, Aaron Paul, Teresa Palmer, Nina Dobrev, Daniel Zovatto, Kartiah Vergara, Josh McConville, Yasmin Kassim, Benedict Hardie, Christian Perez, Cameron Leonard, Cory Beeston, and Ever Love Hope.
SYNOPSIS:
A nightclub owner is on the verge of leaving his dangerous past behind for retirement. After masked gunmen rob him and he finds himself squeezed by ruthless cartels, a mysterious newcomer arrives with an interest in buying the business.
Before even getting into what co-writer/director Derek Borte’s The Get Out is about, it must be said that if Russell Crowe is in a movie, he is putting on a European accent. Simply put, this is what he does now, and how his fascination with playing Albanians and other nationalities would be more interesting than almost anything in this mostly generic, certainly overcrowded Los Angeles crime tale of fighting one’s way out of that dangerous life to live peacefully alongside a loved one.
To be fair, The Get Out is based on a novel called Strip by Thomas Perry (with screenwriters Derek Borte and Daniel Forte adapting), so it’s possible that the character in that book just happened to be Albanian and that this is actually inspired casting; go get the kooky guy who can’t help himself from playing quirky, offbeat, and violent Europeans (this is essentially the Russell Crowe from Kraven the Hunter). The reality is that, whatever the reasoning behind the decision, it mostly amounts to an otherwise legendary actor (at least he knows Gladiator II sucked and isn’t afraid to voice it) delivering another campy performance that unsurprisingly works even less once the film bizarrely shifts from crime comedy to more grounded action with mostly meaningless stakes (since whatever makes this novel a complex and breathtaking piece of crime fiction isn’t to be found here).
Manco Kapak (Russell Crowe) is a nightclub owner (it was once a strip club but changed to reflect politically correct times, which mostly sounds like a change from the novel and an acknowledgment of that) connected to the cartel (Daniel Zavatto) with a rigid system in place to keep operations functional. It turns out that the only threat to that falling apart is his own physical health, as he suffers a cardiac incident while sexually intimate with his much younger girlfriend, Sunny (Teresa Palmer). This is also what prompts him and her to consider selling the nightclub to an interested buyer, Joe Carver (Luke Evans), leaving that life behind, fleeing the country, and living out the rest of their days in solitude, with no one hunting them down.
Not only do Manco and Joe struggle to come to a financial agreement that feels respectful to the former, but a crooked police detective (Josh McConville) discreetly tasks miserable adjunct professor Jeff (Aaron Paul), who already breaks the law in what he believes to be victimless crimes in writing academic papers to help undeserving youngsters receive a free ticket into prestigious colleges. to mug the nightclub owner and steal the cash that he is carrying to bring to the cartel. The gist is that Jeff failed to get the detective’s son into the college of his choosing, and that, for some reason, the answer is to keep stealing the money necessary from Manco.
Since Manco never takes his gun out of his car’s glove compartment (even after his girlfriend and confidants suggest he start holstering it), getting the jump on him is simple time and again (Jeff is forced to do this on more than one occasion). However, a wrinkle is thrown into all of this when Point Break-obsessed bank teller Carrie (Nina Dobrev) astutely catches on that something is up with his deposits, pushing her way into the con. It also turns out that Carrie is a risk-taker, excited and turned on by crime, which mostly causes Jeff to freak out as he just wants his part in all of this to be over, but is, of course, more than happy to pull over to a motel at Carrie’s request when robbing Manco has made her horny.
The adventures of this mismatched, dopey Bonnie and Clyde are the most fun there is to be had here, with the clashing personalities of Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev playing off each other well. Their journey takes them in a direction that has less and less to do with Manco and more to do with Carrie getting it over her head, which is amusing and makes for a far more engaging movie than everything else here. She even gets her own blooper reel that might have more laughs in it than the previous 90 minutes.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has seen a movie before that all of these characters are on a collision course to face a reckoning with one another and the reckless and questionable choices they have made to hopefully enrich their lives. However, there is far too much happening in The Get Out, coupled with poor characterization and a gradual shift in tone from a comedic playfulness that already doesn’t work, to violence that also doesn’t work because there isn’t much to care about. Again, there is a much more interesting movie in the oddball-comedic Bonnie and Clyde duo. Put Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev in a Point Break remake, and you have a better movie than that actual remake and The Get Out.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
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