Taylor Frankie Paul's Casting Defended by TV Executive After Scrapped Season: 'Her Motives Were Really Sincere'

Rob Mills is speaking out — and standing by a controversial casting decision that never made it to air.

On Wednesday, April 22, the executive vice president of unscripted at Walt Disney Television shared his thoughts after ABC pulled the plug on The Bachelorette season starring Taylor Frankie Paul.

"I had met with Taylor. She had said, 'Look, I’m raising three kids with different fathers; one, I have a phenomenal co-parenting relationship with. The other one is a challenge, but I’m really looking for a partner and somebody who can help me.' Her motives were really very sincere. Walking into that, that was a really exciting story to tell through the lens of The Bachelorette. Obviously, with everything that happened and everything everyone’s going through, that’s the hard part. Everything that Taylor’s had to go through has been really hard. The season itself is really, really fantastic. It was a great journey for her,” he wrote, per an outlet.

Still, not everyone agreed, as the comments section quickly filled with harsh criticism from viewers.

“Everything this child abuser has gone through is her responsibility to fix. Instead, she continues to do drugs and alcohol and does nothing but self-destruct. Stop platforming, exploiting & enabling child abusers @DisneyStudios @Disney,” one person wrote.

A second added, “f--- her. She's an unemployed single mother psycho w-----.”

“eh no. she was toxic and dangerous, and she's profiting off of it? Nope,” another user said.

“ok so Rob Mills needs to go. Delulu,” a fourth commented.

As OK! previously reported, ABC officially canceled Paul’s season, which was originally set to premiere on March 22, after resurfaced footage from a 2023 incident began circulating online.

Video obtained by TMZ showed Paul allegedly throwing barstools toward a man believed to be Dakota Mortensen, while her young daughter was present in the room.

Following the cancelation, Paul revealed just how overwhelming the situation had become.

“I had a mental breakdown the other day on-camera, and it was just like, ‘Well, we have to be here. We’re contracted,’" she said during a March 20 interview while filming The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5.

She added, "No. This is not acting. I’m having a mental breakdown. I’m going home. That’s it, period."

Paul had first been announced as the next Bachelorette during a September 2025 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy podcast,” where she openly discussed her concerns about taking on the role.

“In my head, I’m like, ‘How do I make this work?’ I’m a co-parent. I have two baby daddies, not one, so I’m dealing with two different people,” she said. “My children, my home base is here. Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?”

Before her rise to reality TV fame, Paul had legal troubles tied to a 2023 incident in Utah. According to reports, she was arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors, including assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child.

She later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in August 2023, while the remaining charges were dismissed. Paul was sentenced to three years of probation.