The Bachelor franchise, the network and studio behind The Bachelor, has been criticized for its lack of diversity in its cast and for its handling of scandals. The scandal surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul's guilty plea to aggravated assault on a 2023 assault charge was revealed when ABC and Warner Horizon hired her to lead season 22 of The Bachelorette. The case was initially charged with domestic violence in the presence of a child and misdemeanor child abuse, but these charges were dropped in exchange for Paul’s guilty plea. Prior to this incident, ABC was moving ahead with promoting Paul's season 22 season and The Bachelor. Despite promises to improve vetting contestants and tightening up other procedures, the franchise's scandals have not been resolved. The franchise's focus on drama is no longer working, with the two main shows in the franchise having seen their smallest audiences ever in the past two seasons.