Taylor Frankie Paul video reignites fevered online discourse around domestic violence

Article here. Excerpt:

'When a 45-second video of reality star Taylor Frankie Paul hurling metal barstools at her ex-boyfriend during a 2023 altercation surfaced just days before her season of “The Bachelorette” was set to premiere on ABC, the fallout was swift.

ABC said it wouldn’t air the show. Some cast members from both “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” — in which Paul stars — and the “Bachelor” universe distanced themselves. Several content creators who focus on pop culture analysis condemned the display of domestic violence.

But Paul also had a slew of vocal defenders who rushed to social media to label the incident “reactive abuse,” a term used to describe when an abuse victim is pushed to respond in an aggressive manner. It’s a topic that often becomes an online flashpoint among advocates, experts and commentators after high-profile domestic violence cases make headlines.

Online, people said they have noticed parallels between their own abusive relationships and Paul and Mortensen’s on-again, off-again situation.

Some have also pointed to the concept of DARVO, a manipulation tactic common in abusive relationships, when analyzing Paul. The acronym, which became ubiquitous in the discourse around Paul, stands for “deny, attack and reverse victim and offender.”

“Sometimes people are pushed to their limits if they’re dealing with abuse day in and day out, mentally, physically, financially, psychologically,” said Ally Langan, a social media user who shared her analysis about how there’s “no perfect victim” when it comes to abuse, telling NBC News she drew from her own experiences.'