Jon Stewart opened his latest commentary by welcoming viewers back from the weekend, though his greeting quickly turned into a sharp jab at the state of current events.
“because the dizzying, chaotic carnival ride that is Donald Trump‘s America continues to careen down shitshow hill. It’s fucking madness out there: TSA lines longer than your actual trip; escalating threats in the Middle East; planes driving into trucks.”
The comedian leaned into his trademark mix of sarcasm and frustration as he described the feeling of living through nonstop headlines and political drama. Amid all of that, Stewart joked that he was looking for something lighter to distract himself.
In fact, he said the only thing giving him a bit of relief lately was the thought of watching the upcoming season of the reality dating show The Bachelorette.
“the only thing giving me joy is looking forward to this season of The Bachelorette,” he ironically quipped. “I mean, they’ve got a strong Mormon woman. She seems lovely. I hope that she finds love—hold on a second, I’m getting a call. Nooo!”
Stewart’s punchline landed just as controversy began surrounding not only the dating series but also Hulu’s reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The situation centres on Taylor Frankie Paul and her former partner, Dakota Mortensen, who have recently faced allegations connected to a domestic assault incident.
As the controversy grew, production on the fifth season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was temporarily suspended. The situation intensified after TMZ released a disturbing video from 2023 that reportedly shows an aggressive confrontation between Paul and Mortensen while a child is present.
The fallout quickly reached ABC, which had been preparing to premiere Season 22 of The Bachelorette. Just days before the new season was scheduled to debut, the network decided to halt the launch.
“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, 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,” the company noted in a statement.
With the show now on hold, Disney is weighing several possible next steps. Executives are reportedly discussing whether Paul’s season might still air at some point and what that could mean for the long-running dating franchise overall.
At the same time, the company must determine if and when production might resume on Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The stakes are higher because Season 6 has already been approved.
For now, Disney’s focus appears to be on assessing the long-term impact of the situation and determining how best to support Paul and Mortensen in the weeks and months ahead.
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