It’s been nearly two weeks since Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was canceled by ABC.
And members of Bachelor Nation are still trying to make sense of the momentous decision that’s expected to cost the network roughly $70 million.
The latest Bachelorette veteran to comment on the scandal is Rachel Lindsay.
And she thinks the situation is so bad that that ABC might have no choice but to pull the plug on the entire franchise.
“It’s tainted,” Rachel said of the franchise during a recent episode of E!’s “Hot Goss” podcast.
“I’m very logical and I keep trying to figure out, ‘How can you move around this?’”
“I’m sure they’ll find a way, they are a business,” she continued, but added that after having looked at it from every angle:
“I cannot see a road forward with the franchise.”
No one knows the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise quite like Rachel.
In fact, Lindsay was instrumental in Chris Harrison’s exit from his hosting gig back in 2021. So if she says the Paul situation could be enough to tank the entire franchise, she might be onto something.
For her part, Taylor has mostly remained quiet about the footage that showed her assaulting then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
That could be at the behest of her lawyers.
Taylor is now being investigated for additional domestic violence incidents based on claims made by Dakota.
She’s posted on social media a few times in the wake of her scandal, but she has not addressed Mortensen’s claims directly.
In a statement issued through her PR representative, Taylor insisted that the video did not tell the whole story, and she is the real victim in this scenario.
“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” her rep told E! News in a March 19 statement.
“After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm,” the rep continued, adding:
“There are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives.”
Mortensen is standing his ground, and there’s a good chance that the exes will wind up facing off in court at some point.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.