The Taylor Frankie Paul controversy just took another turn, and this time, it is the footage that is doing all the talking. Newly released police bodycam video from her 2023 arrest shows a moment that is both chaotic and unexpectedly emotional. In the middle of a heated domestic incident, her ex boyfriend Dakota Mortensen can be heard asking officers to arrest him instead of her. “Why can’t it be me?” he asks. That single line is now everywhere.
The footage captures the aftermath of a night that spiraled quickly. Officers arrive at the Utah home to find both parties arguing. Paul appears visibly distressed, crying and stumbling, while Mortensen tells police that she had been drinking and was “going through a lot.”
But the situation escalates as more details come out.
Mortensen claims she hit him with a metal chair, even telling officers he believes his finger is broken. Previously released clips had already shown objects being thrown inside the house, with a child present during the incident. The environment, even through the screen, feels tense and unstable.
At one point, Mortensen tries to take the blame.
He insists on being taken into custody, repeating that Paul has been through a lot. But officers refuse, stating clearly that she was identified as the primary aggressor.
The footage does not stop there.
In a follow up interaction, police question Mortensen about further details from the night, including the extent of the chaos inside the house. The situation appears far more serious than what initially surfaced at the time.
Legally, the case has already played out to an extent.
Paul was arrested and later pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault. Other charges were dismissed. But the release of this footage is reopening public conversation in a major way.
And the timing matters.
This comes right after ABC pulled her season of The Bachelorette just days before its premiere, and halted production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. What was already a major controversy is now turning into something that feels much bigger.
Because now, people are not just reading headlines.
They are watching it unfold.
And once footage like this is out, the narrative shifts from speculation to something far more real.
At this point, the question is no longer what happened.
It is how much more is still left to come out.
