Producers behind The Bachelorette are opening up about their concerns over Taylor Frankie Paul — and it sounds like her season was already raising eyebrows before it was ultimately canceled.
In a new interview with Vulture, showrunner Scott Teti revealed that while producers were excited about Taylor as the lead, they were also nervous about how much freedom she was given during filming.
“We let [Taylor] make her own decisions in a way that affected the format, and sometimes that was a little scary because it was ‘You want to do what?’” he said.
According to Teti, giving that level of control to a lead is not typical for the franchise.
“It gives producers heart attacks, but also it’s very exhilarating because you don’t usually give talent that freedom to do those things.”
He added that some of her choices left the team stunned in real time.
“There are moments that are just like, Oh my God, what has she done?”
Taylor was originally set to lead Season 22, which would have followed more than 20 contestants competing for her heart after her split from Dakota Mortensen.
At the time, Taylor said she was looking forward to stepping outside her comfort zone.
“I’m most looking forward to is meeting a handful of people that are outside my bubble,” she said in a previous interview.
“It’s out of my comfort zone, so, obviously, it’s scary. You’re dealing with feelings — and you’re dealing with other people’s feelings — and I don’t really like to hurt other people’s feelings.”
Still, Teti acknowledged that her personal life — particularly her highly publicized relationship with Dakota — raised concerns from the start.
“It’s always a concern of how people are going to react to all those things,” he said.
Despite that, he also saw her as compelling television.
“I realized, Oh my God, this girl is one of the most honest reality TV stars that I’ve ever seen.”
“As we talked more, I realized she has no ability to really lie. Everything is really authentic — all the truth just comes out.”
Ultimately, Taylor’s season was pulled after reports surfaced of an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this year.
With production halted and the show no longer moving forward, it appears the concerns producers had behind the scenes may have been just the beginning of a much bigger situation.
