This is a disaster of biblical proportions.
Tyler Frankie Powell — who rose to fame during the soft-turning scandal on Tic Tac and a starring role on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Women” — has become a city icon for all the wrong reasons.
Hulu halted production on season 5 of “SLOMW” and ABC pulled season 22 of “Bachelorette” — which premiered last Sunday with Paul, 31, as the lead — after following new, alarming details of her toxic relationship with the father of her child, Dakota Mortenson, 33.
In her statement last week hinting at the turmoil, Paul shared that she had been “suffering in silence from extensive mental and physical abuse” for years.
Paul’s fans have long encouraged her to seek help for her mental health — in 2022, she even filmed a clip of herself crying in response to a comment that told her she needed treatment.
Now, those calls are running out of steam. Even her “SLOMW” co-stars have expressed that they want to get her help before filming continues, according to TMZ. A representative for Paul did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The quick and obvious public reaction to Paul’s fall from grace shows that we are in for a significant change in reality television. Fans and critics are calling on networks to stop prioritizing dramatic ratings over the well-being of cast members who appear in crisis or volatile situations.
Change does not come easily. Since the early days of reality television, producers have deliberately exploited the “train wreck” appeal, exploiting participants with obvious mental health problems for storylines.
And experts warn that these tactics have a real—and potentially dangerous—human cost.
“When producers knowingly target individuals who may be vulnerable, don’t use independent psychiatric evaluators, don’t provide adequate mental health support or don’t use conditions to induce anxiety, it creates a significant potential for harm,” said Dr. Christian Chapis, assistant professor of teaching who serves as director of the online MSW program.
The examples are endless – Ruthie Alcide battled alcoholism in 1999’s “The Real World: Air,” Rob Kardashian dealt with deep depression and low self-esteem on The Kardashians’ reality show, Taylor Armstrong of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” suffered verbal and physical abuse from his camera. Janelle Evans was frequently in tears as she battled her “inner demons.”
Recently, in a pair of documentaries that premiered this year, several “America’s Next Top Model” alumni shared the emotional distress, anxiety, and trauma they experienced during the show and after the streaks subsided.
After Cycle 2 contestant Shandy Sullivan was filmed having sex with a male model while drinking — an incident that was framed as a cheating scandal rather than a safety crisis — the cameras continued as she burst into tears while confessing to her boyfriend on the phone. She then left the competition.
Sullivan, now 43, told Rolling Stone recently: “My body still feels the trauma. My skin is crawling when I talk about it.” “How do you treat people as cash cows[s] Instead of humans? It’s confusing, no matter what year it is.”
Cycle 8’s Dionne Walters said she was forced to portray a gunshot victim, even though she told producers her mother had been shot and paralyzed. “I think they wanted to see some kind of mental breakdown,” she reflected on “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.”
And Cycle 4’s Kenya Hill lamented that her weight and eating habits were made into a “necessary” storyline.
The social media backlash was overwhelming, with viewers declaring the modeling competition “toxic”, “hostile”, “negligent” and “wrong AF”.
Since “ANTM” premiered in 2003, the stigma surrounding mental health has diminished. People have become more open to discussing it—and more compassionate about other people’s experiences.
And while audiences have long been eager for “the most dramatic season ever,” there’s growing evidence of fatigue with mental health crises and the sensational exploitation of reality TV’s predictable formula.
Audiences want to be entertained, not uncomfortable.
Even the most innocuous shows have fallen into the fray – in Season 2 of “Top Chef,” chefstist Marcel Vigneron was physically attacked by his contestants because they tried to shave his head against his will.
“These shows are stress cookers by design. You have isolation, sleep deprivation, alcohol, competition and cameras all day,” D. Evan Young — behavioral neuroscientist, executive coach and author of “Leading from the Heart” — told The Post on April 28.
“It’s not neutral, it’s engineered pressure.”
A high-stress, conflict-filled environment can “easily exacerbate and exacerbate symptoms of a pre-existing mental health issue,” hurting producers and networks “in some cases,” said Chapais, who last year led a study on the mental well-being of reality TV contestants.
But, as Young points out, “drama pays off.”
Paul’s 2023 feud with Mortenson was a major focus of the 2024 series premiere of “SLOMW.” Despite their continued tumultuous relationship — call it a latter-day love story — Paul was cast as “The Bachelorette” last year.
She gave out all her roses, but the season took a backseat after TMZ released a video last week showing, for the first time, Paul throwing metal barstools at Mortenson, and one that appeared to hit his young daughter, at that 2023 event.
Court records show the mother of three pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, and other charges were dropped.
This month, Hulu halted production on “SLOMW” Season 5 amid a new domestic assault investigation involving Paul and Mortenson.
It took this tipping point for Steamer to act, although Paul’s apparent and ongoing on-camera distress and mood swings were already treated as a feature of the show.
“The other day on camera I had a mental breakdown, and it was just like, ‘Okay, we have to be here. We’re making a deal’ — no. It’s not an act. I’m having a mental breakdown. I’m going home. That’s it, period,” Paul recently told Welcher.
Mental breakdowns are common on reality TV, and sometimes the worst happens. The Post reported in 2016 that 21 reality TV contestants died by suicide over a decade.
The unfortunate trend continued. Caroline Flack, who hosted the British series “Love Island” and “The Xtra Factor,” died of suicide in February 2020 at the age of 40.
Before more damage is done, where does reality TV go from here?
Although contestants often undergo extensive psychological testing—including clinical interviews and personality tests—the results may be used more to identify vulnerabilities than to screen for emotional stability. Chappes said more work is needed to ensure the safety of cast members.
“At a minimum, participants must provide informed consent, undergo a thorough and objective psychological examination and have access to protection and support before, during and after filming,” she said.
“Informed consent is particularly complex in this context because participants cannot fully predict how they will be portrayed or how people will respond to them,” she continued. “Since participants generally have less control over editing their image, this increases the risk of exploitation.”
Chapis noted that some production companies have begun implementing safety protocols, but there are no industry-wide standards for the psychological safety of reality participants in the United States.
“On the other hand, the UK has often taken steps through its regulator, Ofcom, to require stronger safeguards, such as mental health support before, during and after filming, as well as restrictions against false narratives.” Chapis said.
“However, the United States does not have the same standards applicable, and participants can be widely edited in ways that misrepresent or even defame them.”
The Post has reached out to Hulu and ABC representatives for comment on their protocols to keep cast members safe.
As Powell’s drama plays out in Utah courts and the court of public opinion, her future as a guardian for her children and reality star is unclear.
While he cleans up another scandal, maybe it’s time for the book of Exodus from our screens.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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