ABC to Air Repeat of American Idol to Fill Slot Left by Cancellation of The Bachelorette

ABC has scheduled a repeat of American Idol to air on Sunday night at 8/7c on March 22 following the cancellation of Season 22 of The Bachelorette. This decision came after new allegations of domestic violence against host Taylor Frankie Paul emerged.

The situation escalated when footage of the domestic violence was released via TMZ. The video shows Paul throwing a chair at her former ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, in 2023, with her child present and also struck by the chair. This incident is linked to Paul’s 2023 minor criminal arrest, during which she was charged with assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in front of a minor. Paul is a contestant on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and had mentioned this incident in Season 1 of that program.

Season 22 of The Bachelorette was originally set to premiere at 8/7c on Sunday night, March 22. However, ABC decided to cancel the season after the video was released on March 19. A spokesperson for Disney Entertainment Television stated, “Given the newly released footage, we have decided not to proceed with a new season at this time and will focus on supporting her family.”

To fill this vacant time slot, American Idol has scheduled a repeat of Part 1 of the Top 20 performances from its episode aired on March 16. Part 2 of the Top 20 performances for American Idol will air as scheduled on Monday, March 23, with the first live show and voting taking place on March 30.

ABC has not yet announced plans for this time slot. However, considering that American Idol originally aired twice a week (with performances on one day and result announcements the following day), it is possible that the show will air twice weekly on Sundays and Mondays starting from March 30.