Jimmy Kimmel joked about Taylor Frankie Paul’s “Bachelorette” season getting “pulled off air” during Tuesday’s Disney upfronts.
“I didn’t think I’d see you guys again!” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host quipped onstage, referencing his temporary suspension last year.
“I’ve been through so much bulls–t this year, it actually made me appreciate this bulls–t,” the comedian, 58, said of the annual presentation event.
“You see,” he continued, “in order for ABC to pull you off the air, you have to throw a chair at your Mormon boyfriend!”
The crack was a thinly-veiled joke about Paul’s search for love being cancelled in March, days before it was set to premiere.
Reddit users “can’t wait” for Paul’s reaction to Kimmel’s comment, with one writing that the Emmy winner is “in danger, girl.”
When ABC canceled Season 22 of “The Bachelorette, the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star was under investigation for an alleged incident with on-again, off-again boyfriend — but it was footage from her 2023 domestic violence arrest that made the network pull the trigger.
In the leaked video, recorded on Mortensen’s cell, the MomTok star launched furniture at her then-partner while her 8-year-old daughter, Indy cried in the background.
After Paul’s arrest, she accepted a plea deal for third-degree felony count of aggravated assault, with the aftermath of the scandal documented on her Hulu reality show.
As the throwback footage went viral earlier this year, ABC released a statement reading, “We have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
We hear there is a chance the season could still come out one day as ABC “simply paused” it.
Bachelor Nation members, meanwhile, have expressed mixed feelings over the unprecedented cancellation.
“Let us see it,” Demi Burnett urged ABC during a “Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour” episode last week. “So many people worked hard on it. Not just her, there’s a whole [crew].”
Ashley Iaconetti, however, agreed it would not have been “appropriate” to air the season in a March interview with Page Six.
The winner of Paul’s season is believed to be singer Doug Mason, and the pair are reportedly “trying to make [their] relationship work” as her and Mortensen’s contentious custody battle over son Ever, 2, plays out.
In their most recent hearing, Paul and Mortensen were both granted restraining orders against each other.
Kimmel, who interviewed Paul and co-star Whitney Leavitt in 2025, had yet to comment on Paul’s scandal prior to Tuesday’s joke.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
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