Taylor Frankie Paul’s “Bachelorette” suitors are considering a lawsuit against ABC and Warner Bros. Discovery over the cancelation of the 22nd season of the reality romance hit, amid new domestic violence and child abuse allegations against its star.
TMZ founder Harvey Levin, also a lawyer, discussed that potential with criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos on Saturday’s episode of their “2 Angry Men” podcast.
“There are two people, we’re told, who were the most obvious ones … [to] get picked [as the next] ‘Bachelor,’” said Levin.
With the cancelation, the men have “no visibility” and no shot at the title role, said Levin, who knows of “a lot of screaming already” and “a lot of finger-pointing” between ABC and producer WB Discovery. Sources previously told Us Weekly that ABC could lose anywhere from $40 million to $50 million for canceling the season.
“There are going to be contestants suing,” predicted Geragos. “They’re gonna sue everybody and it’s going to be a wide swath of targets.”
Levin explained those contestants would likely say they suffered losses due to ABC being “negligent or reckless” in “not doing … due diligence” with casting Paul.
Geragos added that any prior knowledge ABC had about Paul’s legal issues could “cross the line into punitive damages. … If that’s the case, that’s a monstrous, monstrous lawsuit.”
The network canceled the show Thursday, in the wake of newly released video from the 31-year-old #MomTok influencer’s 2023 domestic violence dispute with ex Dakota Mortensen. The disturbing video showed Paul putting Mortensen, now 33, in a headlock and hurling metal barstools his way, one of which hit her then-5-year-old daughter, Indy.
Paul was arrested at the time, with police body-cam footage shown in the 2024 pilot of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” — the series on Hulu, which, like ABC, is owned by Disney.
Paul is on supervised probation, having ultimately pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, with the dismissal of additional charges — including two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child and a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief.