Key Takeaways
- Anna Delvey, a controversial contestant on Dancing With The Stars, showcased an anklet due to visa issues.
- Despite criticism for her criminal past, the show defended casting her, emphasizing her intriguing story.
- Anna and partner Ezra Sosa were eliminated in the second episode, and she expressed she gained nothing from the experience.
Anna Delvey is one of the most controversial contestants ever to take part in Dancing With The Stars. The socialite and fraudster is paired up with Ezra Sosa for the 33rd season of the popular reality TV competition, but not everyone is happy with her inclusion.
Anna was the last to dance on the premiere episode of the season, performing a cha-cha to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”. Although Anna’s dance earned her 18 out of 30, fans were more interested in her bedazzled ankle bracelet. Anna revealed in the Tuesday, September 17 episode that she was required to wear the anklet because she “overstayed” her U.S. visa amid her prison sentence.
During the season premiere, the 33-year-old was referred to as an entrepreneur and fashionista, although she is better known for being convicted of grand larceny. The infamous socialite was given permission by ICE to relocate from New York City to Los Angeles as long as she wore the ankle monitor.
After she made her Dancing with the Stars debut, Anna revealed why she drew attention to her ankle monitor. “Well, we collaborated with the costume department. Obviously, we could not leave the ankle bracelet naked, so we decided to match it [to my dress],” she shared, revealing the monitor had a special sleeve over it rather than the sequins being placed directly on the electronic tag.
Why Anna Delvey Was Sentenced To Prison
Anna Delvey, born Anna Sorokin, first came to public attention in 2018 when New York Magazine published a report on her crimes. Her misdeeds were dramatized in the Netflix series Inventing Anna.
Anna was arrested in 2017 while on the run in California, and her criminal trial started in New York. In 2019, she was found guilty of eight theft-related charges and jailed for four to 12 years.
After being convicted, Anna Delvey was ordered to pay a $24,000 fine and around $200,000 in restitution.
Born in Russia, she worked her way into the elite circles of New York City, and her audacity made her fascinating to the public. Nicknamed the “fake heiress,” prosecutors accused her of ripping off friends, strangers, and businesses. Anna pretended to be a famous European heiress due to inherit a German megafortune.
Anna Sorokin started going by Anna Delvey when she relocated to Paris, but her ruse really started when she visited New York City in 2014. When living in New York, she managed to con herself into living an extravagant lifestyle by skipping out on hotel bills and conning herself into elite social circles.
In June 2018, Anna and her lawyer attempted to make a plea deal, but it was thrown out after the judge declared the fake heiress as showing “no remorse.”
“The thing is, I’m not sorry.”
Anna told the New York Times a day after her sentencing. “I’d be lying to you and to everyone else and to myself if I said I was sorry for anything. I regret the way I went about certain things.”
What Anna Delvey Has Done Since Being Released From Prison
In February 2021, Anna Delvey was released early for good behavior. She was supposed to return to Germany immediately, but she overstayed her visa in the United States. A month later, immigration authorities arrested the faux socialite and held her in detention for 17 months before releasing her on house arrest.
Anna Delvey is still fighting her deportation and insists that she must stay in the United States so she can appeal her criminal conviction.
Upon her release from the Orange County ICE facility, where she had to post $10,000 bail, she was placed in 24-hour home confinement and prohibited from using social media. From her East Village apartment, she threw a “Club House Arrest” party, asking attendees to sign NDAs and donate to Access Justice Brooklyn.
In January 2023, it was rumored that Anna would receive her own reality show titled, Delvey’s Dinner Club, where she would host exclusive, intimate dinner parties in her home while under house-arrest.
“She’ll do it through what’s already become one of the hottest tables in town
— invitation-only, intimate dinners at her home
,” as stated in the press release via
Variety
. “There, a Delvey-invited group of actors, musicians, founders, socialites, journalists and other esteemed guests will join her each week around a private-chef catered table replete with candid conversations where no topic is off-limits – including Anna’s experience within the criminal justice system, her strategy to rebuild her image and her plans for the future.”
However, details pertaining to Delvey’s Dinner Club‘s release date or if the project is still being pursued are not clear.
In September 2024, it was reported “the terms of her house arrest were recently relaxed, allowing her to work and to travel freely within 70 miles of her home. She’s also been given a Social Security number and has been allowed to return to social media.” Anna’s other post-prison hustles include holding an art show, a docuseries deal, and a successful return to social media.
Dancing With The Stars Casting Defends Choosing Anna Delvey
Critics accused Dancing With The Stars of glamorizing Anna Delvey’s past crimes. The New York Post called it a “new low for pop culture.” However, the producers of the dancing competition show and Anna’s co-stars have defended her involvement in the show.
“We’ve always tried to be a very broad church when it comes to the types of people, the types of backgrounds, the types of stories we have on the show,” showrunner Conrad Green told Variety. “Anna is fascinating to a lot of people, a lot of people have watched the dramas about her life and have followed her story.”
“I think there is an inherent curiosity about her.”
The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei admits he is ignoring the talk around the star and chooses instead to focus on his own performance. “I try not to focus on all the noise around it. I’m happy for everyone that’s got an opportunity this season and for me, like I said, my focus is on trying to make sure I keep my feet under me. That’s really where my head’s been at.”
Anna hopes that her appearance on the reality show will change people’s perspective of her and her past.
“I hope that everybody who feels negatively about me, that I will be able to turn their opinion of me around. I’ve reinvented myself many times, and this time, I’m going to be a ballroom dancer.”
The show’s host, Julianne Hough, thinks that the show could be a “great opportunity” for Anna as it “allows people to show their most true self.” While Julianne admits the booking was “controversial,” the dancer and actress is “obsessed,” with the convicted felon.
Luckily, Anna’s dance partner, Ezra Sosa, has her back. “She’s been putting in so much work, especially with all the adversity she faces,” Sosa captioned in an Instagram photo. “I know it’s not easy to show up in front of America every week, but she’s really stepping up to the plate and giving it her all in the rehearsals. I’ve never seen her work this hard before, and I’m so proud of the progress she’s already made. I can’t wait for you all to see this too next Tuesday!”
