Dancing with the Stars season 33 may have its wildest cast yet: a diverse list ranging from Olympians, athletes, actors, models, reality stars, and in the case of Anna Delvey, convicted felons. In the promotional image for the show, the con artist, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, happily posed with the ankle monitor worn since October 2022 when she started her house arrest.
Delvey’s casting, who is currently in a legal battle fighting deportation back to her native country of Germany, has sparked debate online about whether she should be a part of the show. But it’s clear ABC has welcomed her with open arms, describing her as an “artist, fashion icon and infamous NYC socialite.”
“Some view her as a cunning scam artist, while others see her as a charismatic and ambitious entrepreneur who took advantage of New York City’s social elite in an effort to open a prestigious art studio,” they wrote in a news release.
What’s interesting is the question of how Delvey is filming the show, which shoots in Los Angeles, while on house arrest in New York. Per the Associated Press, her spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed Tuesday that she could travel within 70 miles (112 kilometers) of her home base and anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City under previous house arrest conditions. But they did not comment on any changes.
The outlet notes that while under house arrest, she had to abide by the immigration judge’s condition that she does not use social media. But she became active again on Instagram, where she has 1.1 million followers, on August 14. She’s posted paid partnerships, digital magazine covers, promotions for the show, and more.
Anna Delvey’s story
Delvey gained international attention after Netflix purchased the rights to her story and developed it into the 2022 hit miniseries Inventing Anna. She was convicted of 8 felonies on April 11, 2019, when a jury found her guilty of two counts of grand larceny, three counts of theft of services, one count of attempted grand larceny, one count of grand larceny in the third degree, and one count of theft of services in the first degree.
© TIMOTHY A. CLARYThe convictions stemmed from her elaborate scheme between 2013-2017, defrauding banks, hotels, and individuals by pretending to be a wealthy socialite and German heiress in New York. During her prosecution, it was estimated that she stole around $275,000, per People. In May 2019, she was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison, fined $24,000, and ordered to pay restitution of about $199,000.
After serving almost four years, Delvey was released early in 2021 for good behavior but was immediately detained by immigration for overstaying her visa. She was in ICE custody for over a year before a judge allowed her to switch to house arrest in October 2022 while she fought the deportation case.
“So many people became famous for bad things and were able to kind of segue it into something different,” she said in a June 2023 interview with The Associated Press- an idea she is making come true. Despite being on house arrest, she started her podcast, The Anna Delvey Show, in 2023, which had nine episodes, inviting guests like Whitney Cummings to join her in New York.
Watch the season premiere of DWTS LIVE on Tuesday, September 17 on ABC and Disney+, Next Day on Hulu.