Dakota Mortensen is sharing his perspective.
The 33-year-old broke his silence on domestic violence allegations between him and ex Taylor Frankie Paul after a video of a 2023 fight surfaced and…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Category: Entertainment
Content warning: This story contains details of domestic violence.
Dakota Mortensen is taking legal action against Taylor Frankie Paul.
Shortly after a video of a 2023 physical altercation between…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Content warning: This story contains details of domestic violence.
One of Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette contestants is speaking out.
Following the cancellation of season 22 over a 2023 video…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Taylor Frankie Paul is breaking her silence.
Shortly after ABC confirmed that the 31-year-old’s season of The Bachelorette would not be premiering on March 22 following the release of a video…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
While wedding season is technically all year long, there’s no doubt that it peaks in spring and summer. If you’ve submitted the RSVP for an upcoming wedding, it’s time to start thinking about what…
E! Online (US) – Top Stories
If you’ve bitten into a Buc-ee’s brisket, you know it’s no ordinary meat slab. But have you wondered how the chain makes the meat so smoky and tender?
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
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As you’ve likely heard by now, 31-year-old father of three Joseph Duggar has been arrested on charges of child molestation.
The former reality star is reportedly still behind bars after being taken into police custody on Wednesday afternoon.
According to a police report, he stands accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida in 2020.
This, of course, is not the first time that the Duggar family has been rocked by a scandal involving child sexual abuse.
Back in 2015, an unsealed police report revealed that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s eldest child, Josh Duggar, had molested five young girls, four of whom were his sisters.
Josh didn’t face any legal consequences, but his family’s reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, was canceled by TLC.
In the long run, the Duggars didn’t face any professional ramifications either, as the network brought the family back for a reboot titled Counting On (this time without Josh).
A few years later, the family found itself at the center of an even more damaging scandal.
In 2021, Josh was convicted on charges of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials.
He has been in prison ever since, and he’s expected to remain behind bars until December of 2021.
Many fans of the family have expressed shock that such a family of devout evangelical Christians could produce such monstrous behavior.
But as many have pointed out, Josh and Joseph’s (although we should note that the latter has not yet been convicted of any crimes) depraved behavior might have occurred because of their upbringing, not in spite of it.
As anyone who has watched the Duggars’ reality shows will know, the family lives in a highly secretive, insular world.
Josh was able to claim so many victims — and rise to fame after his first brush with the law — largely because his family and neighbors helped him keep his secret and turned a blind eye to his many red flags.
And then there were the bizarre teachings and extreme punishments that might have warped Josh and Joseph’s psyches — and their views on sex — at young ages.
The infamous “Duggar dress code,” for example, requires women and girls to dress “modestly” at all times.
This usually means that they’re forced to wear floor-length skirts and long sleeves even while playing sports or engaging in other outdoor activities — all so that they won’t run the risk of inducing impure thoughts in the menfolk.
Obviously, premarital sex was forbidden in the Duggars’ community, but the family took things even further than that, forbidding unmarried men and women even to kiss, hold hands, or be alone together.
The Duggar courtship rules were notoriously harsh, yet another effort from the elders in the community to control the sex lives of young men and women.
It would be simplistic and misguided to blame Josh and Joseph’s misconduct on their parents’ beliefs.
But it’s worth noting that — as is so often the case — strict rules intended to bring about certain behaviors had the opposite effect instead.
The Duggar Family’s History of Sex Scandals: How Is It Tied to Their Bizarre Belief … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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Charlie Kirk’s widow can’t catch a break.
In addition to making odd statements and behaving strangely, Erika Kirk’s actions have made the target of conspiracy theories.
But what in the world could explain this $1k shopping spree, not even a full day after her husband died?
It wasn’t funeral clothes, if you’re wondering. Could there be some sort of explanation?
A $1,000 shopping spree hours after her husband was killed?
A TikToker named Markos is spilling some tea about Erika’s alleged shopping spree in the wake of her husband’s death.
In a TikTok video, he alleged that an Alo employee contacted him and handed over a receipt as evidence.
(Alo is a clothing brand known for gymwear with what critics call a hefty price tag.)
“You cannot defend her behavior at this point,” Markos opined.
Allegedly, he said, Erika spent over $1,000 the day after Charlie’s shooting to purchase black clothing.
@markosbits Erika, if you’re gonna go on a shopping spree 12 hours after your hubby gets sniped at least treat yourself to Prada.
No, this could not have been emergency funeral clothing, he explained.
Markos’ video notes that not only is this gymwear — not like the skirts, dresses, blazers, and suits that people might wear to a funeral — but it apparently has large branding on it.
The purchases, totaling $1,043, came at 11:10 AM on Thursday, September 11 — about 19 hours after Charlie died. The name on the receipt was Erika Franzese, her maiden name.
Now, that isn’t “before the body was cold,” as Markos hyperbolically dubbed it. Algor mortis aside, the body was certainly in a temperature-controlled environment well before the shopping went down.
The point, simply put, is that this seems like a weird move for a new widow. It’s not helping her image.
Is there an explanation that could make this make sense?
To be blunt, Erika went from being the essentially unknown wife of a notorious Christian nationalist to becoming the target of scorn from both sides of the political aisle.
Different people react in different ways to grief.
While many — including Markos — point out that most would not go on shopping sprees for pricey gymwear the morning after their spouse’s assassination, it’s true that different people have different ways to cope.
Could there be some sort of explanation for all of this?
Apparently, there is.
Mikey McCoy was Charlie Kirk’s chief of staff. Elizabeth is his wife.
She took to her Instagram Story to defend Erika, referring to herself as “the Alo purchaser.”
Apparently, she made these purchases as a favor to Erika.
“Think twice and consider evaluating things through a little grace perhaps,” she asked, “when you guys go down your next rabbit hole.”
Elizabeth also shared that she had gone to Target for other supplies.
All settled, right?
Admittedly, some wonder why Charlie Kirk’s wife seemingly had a card in her maiden name.
However, we can all probably recognize that the general dislike of Erika is probably a larger factor here than any purchase.
(Politically, the left dislikes Erika for taking on the mantle of her late husband’s white nationalism and Christian nationalism, while the right seems to resent that Erika is stepping into her husband’s shoes without the charisma or experience to back it up. Also she’s a woman, which many of them find unforgivable.)
You know when you hate someone so much that you cringe when they laugh or hate any restaurant that they frequent? The Erika thing has reached those proportions.
That said … this isn’t doing any favors for Alo as a brand.
Erika Kirk BLASTED for $1k Shopping Spree Hours After Charlie Died: What Could Explain … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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In a move that began to feel inevitable in recent days, ABC has canceled Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette.
The decision follows the release of shocking footage that shows Paul assaulting then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
At one point in the video, Paul threw several chairs at Mortensen, one of which allegedly struck her 5-year-old daughter.
“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,” Disney said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon (per NBC News).
Many fans of The Bachelorette and its related series are breathing a sigh of relief today, as the consensus among viewers was that Paul’s season would’ve permanently degraded one of the longest-running franchises in reality TV history.
Paul’s other series, the Hulu reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has already suspended production in response to recent developments.
Taylor has not yet issued a statement on what may well be the end of her career as a reality star and influencer.
Asked about the scandal during an appearance on Wednesday’s Good Morning America, Paul declined to go into specifics but admitted that it had “been a heavy time to see the headlines.”
“But I will say, I’ve been here before, and I got through it, and, you know, shared my story, my light. So I’m hoping that I can do that again,” she added.
From the beginning, Mortensen has maintained that ABC was aware of the allegations against Paul, and they made the decision to cast her as Bachelorette in spite of the risks.
He also denied Taylor’s allegation that he was the one who made the allegations public.
“His number one priority here is protecting [their 2-year-old son], Ever,” a rep for Mortensen tells Entertainment Weekly, adding:
“He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor.
“It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well. He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away. He’s never done any kind of sit-down interview about his side,” the spokesperson continued.
Paul’s casting was controversial from the very beginning, but very few of her critics would have predicted that her season would never even make it to air.
Only time will tell what sort of effect this move will have on the future of this franchise.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Taylor Frankie Paul’s Season of ‘The Bachelorette’ Canceled By ABC Amid … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Breaded fish sandwiches are sold in several fast food restaurants, and most stick to a similar format. One chain flips the script by using a regional delicacy.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews