The Utter Decadence of The American Broadcasting Company

Really, you can’t make this shit up.

I will start this off by saying once again that I watch no broadcast or cable TV anymore, I ‘cut the cable’ a long time ago. Seems like 10 years, certainly close to that.

However, the mainstream media does report on things like the Oscar awards ceremony (whose audience has cratered since 2014, see chart below), and other TV ‘events’.

So, I hear things about TV shows. Or, rather, I read them, and today’s WSJ had quite the TV story, titled ABC Pulls ‘The Bachelorette’ After Video Showing Star’s Alleged Violent Behavior Toward Ex

Lest all the feminists go ballistic, let me quickly point out that the ‘star’ mentioned in that headline was one Taylor Frankie Paul – a chick(sorry, ladies. Not really.)

A video has surfaced on the website of TMZ. TMZ used to have a cable TV show back when I had cable. Don’t know if they still do, but they do have a website. According to the WSJ  “…TMZ published a video that appeared to show its popular lead, Taylor Frankie Paul, being violent toward her former partner with a child present.”

I went to the website, it’s easy to find, there is a video there whose caption suggests exactly what the quote says. I did not watch it.

I hear you wondering – who is this Ms Paul?

I quote from the article in the WSJ:

A 31-year-old mother of three with more than 6 million TikTok followers, Paul became a breakout star of Hulu’s popular reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Her “Bachelorette” casting announcement in September brought fresh buzz to ABC’s reality dating show.

So now she has brought an even ‘fresher buzz’, I guess. The article also says this:

Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal has not independently verified the authenticity of the video, which appeared on TMZ hours before ABC pulled the “Bachelorette” premiere.

Where do you suppose TMZ got the video? I dunno. Don’t imagine they are saying.

Ok, so – who cares, Al? These shows are shit, but they get few viewers anymore. No one is surprised there are bottom-feeders out there like Ms Paul, the ‘breakout star’ and ‘influencer’, and the folks who watch her and are, um, influenced by her. What of it?

Well, you know my love for LBO’s, and the American Broadcasting Company is still certainly an LBO. Indeed, it’s part of the Disney empire now, and there ain’t many LBO’s Bigger than that. With that in mind, here is the most telling quote from the WSJ article on this:

In 2023, Paul was arrested by police in Herriman, Utah, over allegations of domestic violence after an argument with Mortensen. At the time, Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

In 2023 that happened, so over two years ago. If the WSJ knows this now, then so did the American Broadcasting Company.

I checked, it is easy to do here.

Aggravated assault, to which Ms Paul pleaded guilty, is a third degree felony in Utah.

But, hey – there was all that buzz.