‘The Bachelorette’ Premiere is Canceled: ABC Has Had Problems on 4 out of Its Last 5 ‘Bachelor Nation’ Seasons
ABC has a serious problem on its hands as yet another Bachelor Nation controversy takes over the internet. Taylor Frankie Paul was the dramatic The Bachelorette lead they thought they needed, but they very much thought wrong. The network has pulled the premiere of Paul’s season of The Bachelorette after a video of Paul assaulting her ex-boyfriend was released. The incident wasn’t a secret to those who have followed Paul’s journey, though the production team appears to be claiming ignorance. Whether they knew or didn’t know doesn’t really matter. At this point, the Bachelor Nation franchise is in serious peril. There have been massive issues in the last four out of five seasons that have aired. Something major is going to need to change.
‘The Bachelorette’ fans were livid after learning the men on Jenn Tran’s season were not vetted
Taylor Frankie Paul isn’t the first contestant or lead to bring drama to the table. Drama is expected in Bachelor Nation, but criminal behavior is not. See, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette might be all fun and games, but the vetting process that contestants go through is not supposed to be. In years past, the producers apparently strictly vetted every single contestant that walked across the Bachelor Mansion threshold. Somewhere along the way, things got a little loose. Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette proved that.
While the season itself showed men who were mean and generally horrible, what happened after the finale rose was far worse. After Jenn Tran picked Deven Strader and then revealed they had split before the finale aired, all of the dirt about him began to dribble out. Strader had a restraining order against him after he terrorized and abused an ex-girlfriend. Straders’ ex told The Hollywood Reporter that he beat her badly enough once that she blacked out. Runner-up Marcus Shoberg was accused of sexual assault, though no charges were ever filed.
The absolute firestorm that erupted after Tran’s season actually led ABC to initially ice the series. They planned to skip one season, moving right on to The Bachelor, before they surprisingly announced Taylor Frankie Paul’s planned appearance.
The ‘Golden’ versions of the show have fared much better
The drama and lack of proper vetting aren’t just a problem with the original The Bachelor and The Bachelorette shows. ABC has also run into drama with the Golden Bachelor, too. Fans who initial swooned over the idea of watching older men and women find love were disillusioned when Gerry Turner, the show’s first lead, was lambasted by an ex-girlfriend during the lead-up to the finale. Turner and Teresa Nist, the season’s winner, got married but split three months after their televised nuptials. The divorce and Turner’s book made things worse.
While they fell in love with Joan Vassos’ hunt for love on the first-ever The Golden Bachelorette, her season was not without trouble, too. Multiple contestants had active or past restraining orders against them. The legal troubles led fans to question just how seriously the casting team was looking at the men, yet again.
The second season of The Golden Bachelor did little to shore up viewers’ feelings. Mel Owens, the show’s lead, cooked up controversy when he commented that he was looking for a woman much younger than him. His ageist commentary was not immediately met with an apology. Viewers called for ABC to send him packing. Instead, Owens and the network doubled down. They kept him as the lead, and he eventually claimed he didn’t realize what he had said was wrong. While the controversy faded, his season was not welcomed with open arms.
The only season in the last several that was largely unproblematic was Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor. Ellis was mostly unproblematic during his time on the show and didn’t have any allegations levied against him. It’s unclear how ABC will handle things moving forward, but a massive overhaul will be needed if the franchise hopes to survive.
