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Ask and you shall receive. After ABC canceled Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette over a resurfaced video from the night of her 2023 arrest and a second slate of domestic violence allegations involving her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, Hulu finally gave in to fans and cut Mortensen’s appearance from Vanderpump Villa.
Last fall, Mortensen joined fellow DadTokkers Jordan Ngatikaura, Chase McWhorter, Mason McWhorter, Jacob Neeley, and Zac Affleck in London to film the third season of Vanderpump Villa, which follows the staff and patrons of Lisa Vanderpump‘s elaborate European estates. MomTok previously appeared in Vanderpump Villa Season 2, which became the catalyst for much of the drama that unfolded in recent seasons of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Sources close to production confirmed to DECIDER that Mortensen will be edited out of the third season, which is set to drop on April 16. The news comes weeks after reports of yet another domestic violence incident involving Mortensen and Paul. Variety broke the news first.
Back in February, the police were reportedly called to Mortensen’s house following an alleged dispute between him and the MomTok founder, who is also the mother of his 2-year-old son. The case is currently under an active investigation, with both parties having made allegations of domestic violence against the other.
Amid the media shitstorm that followed, a video from the night of Paul’s 2023 domestic violence arrest was leaked to TMZ. The harrowing video, taken by Mortensen, shows Paul hurling metal barstools at him, and seemingly catching her young daughter in the crossfire. Within hours of its release, ABC announced that Paul’s season of The Bachelorette, which was set to premiere days later, would no longer move forward as planned. Mortensen also petitioned for and received temporary custody of their son.
While everyone has agreed that the video was horrifying, many questioned the timing of its release. Even Paul’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives co-star Jessi Draper speculated that Mortensen sold the video to TMZ with intentions to sabotage her chances at The Bachelorette.
Others, like us here at DECIDER, called on Hulu to cut Mortensen from the upcoming season of Vanderpump Villa. Many wondered why he should get to go about his day when he’s under investigation for the same type of allegations as his ex-girlfriend. While Hulu listened to fans and decided to axe Mortensen from the show—those who watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives already know he banged someone in the villa—the DadTok creator will still appear in Unwell Winter Games from Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network … for now.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
Vanderpump Villa Season 3 drops on April 16 on Hulu.
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