Dakota Mortensen has sued Hulu and two production companies behind The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives for defamation, alleging that staged events and the removal of contradictory footage created a false portrayal of his relationship with Taylor Frankie Paul.
The lawsuit names Hulu, Jeff Jenkins Productions and Ludwig Productions, according to TMZ, which reported reviewing court documents. Mortensen is seeking unspecified damages exceeding $300,000. That figure describes the relief he is requesting, not money awarded by a court.
Mortensen, Paul’s former partner, alleges that the reality series depicted him as abusive, unfaithful and responsible for a retaliatory report to Child Protective Services. He disputes those portrayals. The allegations in his complaint have not been established in court.
Dakota Mortensen challenges more than a negative edit
The central claim in the lawsuit is that the production went beyond selecting unflattering moments from filmed material. Mortensen alleges that producers constructed storylines through staged events and deliberately excluded footage that would have contradicted them.
According to TMZ’s account, he claims those storylines were broadcast after producers had been told by him and others that the allegations were false. He says the result made him appear to be an obsessive former partner who would not move on from his relationship with Paul.
Utah broadcaster ABC4 separately reported details of the lawsuit, saying it challenges his depiction across the programme’s third, fourth and fifth seasons. The complaint, as described by the station, alleges that the broadcasts presented him to millions of viewers as a domestic abuser and serial adulterer.
Those descriptions are the portrayals Mortensen says he is contesting. They are not findings about his conduct, nor has a court finding that the producers fabricated material been reported in the sources reviewed.
Complaint disputes reunion scenes and omitted footage
One part of Mortensen’s account concerns the third-season reunion. ABC4 reported that he says producers assured him he would be able to respond on camera to allegations he considered false, but then removed his responses from the broadcast.
He also alleges that the reunion made it appear he wanted the other women in the cast to leave the stage. According to the station’s account of the complaint, he claims Paul’s apparently spontaneous arrival on stage was arranged with production.
The lawsuit also describes footage Mortensen says was filmed during the fifth season. He alleges that cameras recorded Paul striking him with a pizza box, and that producers excluded the material even after he demanded its inclusion.
This is an allegation about an incident and footage described in his complaint. This report has not independently viewed the footage or verified how any such material was handled in editing.
Mortensen further disputes a statement that he contacted Child Protective Services about Paul. TMZ reported that he denies making that call, while ABC4 said his complaint challenges the portrayal of a report as retaliation against the mother of his child.
Mortensen alleges lost work and reputational harm
Mortensen says the broadcasts damaged his reputation and cost him business opportunities. TMZ reported that he alleges emotional distress and humiliation, while ABC4 said the complaint describes lost contracts, lost work opportunities and thousands of hostile messages.
The complaint also points to the continued availability and promotion of the episodes on Hulu, according to ABC4. His claims therefore concern not only their original broadcast but the ongoing availability of the material he disputes.
ABC4 reported that he is requesting a jury trial, compensatory damages and other damages determined through the proceedings. The reviewed reports do not provide a breakdown showing how each category of alleged loss was calculated.
Defendants’ responses were not included in initial reports
TMZ said it contacted Hulu but had not received a response when its report was published. ABC4 likewise said it was seeking comment from Hulu and other involved parties. Neither report includes a substantive response from the production companies.
No direct response from Paul to this lawsuit appears in those reports. The available coverage identifies the streamer and production companies as the defendants; it should not be read as establishing that Paul herself has been sued in this action.
The dispute places the production and editing of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives at the centre of Mortensen’s case. For now, the account of allegedly staged scenes and withheld footage is his side of the litigation, rather than a judicial conclusion about Hulu or the producers.
