Anna Delvey, who is still technically under house arrest, has made her Dancing with the Stars debut. The fake heiress, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, is on the cast of season 33, paired with Ezra Sosa.
In her introduction package, Delvey said, “In 2017, I was accused of multiple kinds of grand larceny. I did serve my time. And Dancing With the Stars is a way for me to show people a different side of me. My prior history shows I’m pretty determined. It’s a quality to channel into something positive.” She added, referencing her ankle monitor, “I overstayed my visa, because I was in jail, so it was hard to leave.”
Delvey concluded, “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.” (Her use of “reinvented” is perhaps a nod to Inventing Anna, the Netflix dramatization of her story.)
Delvey and Sosa.
When the casting was first announced, the decision was met with immediate backlash. Showrunner Conrad Green defended the casting, telling Variety, “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. Anna is fascinating to a lot of people, a lot of people have watched the dramas about her life and have followed her story, so I think there is an inherent curiosity about her. She’s very into the world of fashion and those kinds of things, so I think she’ll actually present very well as a dancer. I think people really want to see her. She’s a very valid and interesting part of that cast. Yes, she had the issues she’s had, but we’ve had other people on the show who’ve had criminal issues in the past. She served her time. I think it’s perfectly valid for her to be on the show, and I think people have been really curious to see how she performs.”
On the season premiere last night, Delvey and Sosa went last, dancing the cha cha to “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter.
“I would just like to say, let’s all give this a chance, because I can imagine that this was scary for you,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba said after her dance. “And I’m not pro or for anything that you’ve done, but this is about your dancing here. Let’s all give her that space, please.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.