Inside Anna Delvey's Short & Not-So-Sweet Stint On Dancing With The Stars

"Dancing with the Stars" has had its share of controversial contestants over the years (Sean Spicer? Really?!), but perhaps no one has created as much drama on "DWTS" as Anna Delvey. Unlike the many actors and athletes who have competed for the Mirrorball Trophy, Delvey isn't so much a "star" as a felon. The Russian-born con artist, whose legal name is Anna Sorokin, spent just under four years in prison for posing as a German heiress and scamming financial institutions and Manhattan elites alike out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A Vanity Fair feature on Delvey, written by a former friend-turned-victim, served as the inspiration for the 2022 Netflix miniseries "Inventing Anna," which led the "DWTS" producers to approach Delvey about competing on Season 33. 

It took some doing — and a unique bit of accessorizing — but the convicted criminal was ultimately allowed to perform alongside such conventional celebrities as former "Bachelorette" Jenn Tran, Tori Spelling, and Reginald VelJohnson of "Family Matters" fame. The news of her casting was met with mixed reactions, including expressions of disgust from the hosts of "The View." Calling her "a convicted fraudster," among other things, the panel suggested Delvey was being given star treatment because of her good looks (via People). But the infamous scammer had the last laugh. 

After Whoopi Goldberg claimed that Delvey had never reimbursed her victims, her lawyer contacted the show to deny the accusation and demand an apology, which they delivered. Delvey responded, "Stay nasty, ladies, but don't forget to vote Sept. 17!" Also appalled by the choice to cast the convicted felon was "DWTS" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. In an interview with TMZ, the dancer slammed the decision to promote a "professional liar," and scoffed at the idea of her trying to redeem her rep. "Will I believe anything that lady says? Absolutely not," Chmerkovskiy said (via YouTube).

Anna Delvey is currently under house arrest in New York while awaiting a court decision on her deportation back to Germany. The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) granted the scammer special leave to tape "Dancing with the Stars." Though Delvey still had to wear the ankle bracelet monitor that tracks her location, the socialite shrugged off the inconvenience, asking The Hollywood Reporter, "In what way would it affect my performance? It's actually pretty light." She also admitted to E! News, "I have not really watched the show" (via X, formerly known as Twitter), and that she had no particular strategy in mind for her first dance performance. Coming to her rescue, partner Ezra Sosa jumped in, "Let me do the strategy, okay?" 

In retrospect, the convicted felon may have wished that she could blame her technique (or lack thereof) on her jewelry. In the premiere episode, Delvey and Sosa's cha-cha got a tepid reaction from the studio audience. As USA Today reported, Carrie Ann Inaba urged viewers to judge Delvey solely on her dancing rather than her past misdeeds, but it seems the world wasn't so quick to forgive. Sosa later revealed in a TikTok that after meeting the press post-taping, Delvey was found crying in a bathroom. 

"I've never seen her like that, and it broke my heart," he disclosed. "As her partner, I wanted to give her the best experience she possibly could." The scammer fared no better in Week 2. The quick-step number she and Sosa performed to KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" was meant to spoof Delvey's ice-queen image, but she just came off as stiff and joyless. Her judges' scores, plus the low ranking from voters watching at home, sealed her fate and Delvey and Tori Spelling were sent home in a double elimination.

Anna Delvey's appearance on "DWTS" will be remembered not for her dancing, but for the convicted felon's one-word reaction to her elimination. Just before the credits rolled, host Julianne Hough asked Delvey, "What are you going to take away from this competition?" She responded, "Nothing," and laughed. It was an uncomfortable moment for all involved, and it certainly didn't help with the socialite's attempt to reinvent herself. When she posted the clip to Instagram, Delvey was met with major pushback. "One of the most awkward moments ever on this show," commented one fan. Many expressed sympathy for the scammer's partner, too. "So disrespectful to Ezra," was a representative response.

Longtime "DWTS" judge Carrie Ann Inaba was equally disappointed in her display. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she bluntly confessed to being "taken aback" by Delvey's parting word. "That was dismissive not only of the opportunity she was given, of her wonderful and supportive partner Ezra in his debut season, but also of all of us who work on the show — from the dancers to behind the scenes to the creative team," Inaba pointed out. "A little gratitude could have changed the narrative." 

Delvey, also interviewed by the outlet, didn't apologize for the crack, but acknowledged that she was sad to be leaving the show and felt her chance at public redemption had been squandered. Sadly, we'll never know whether the infamous con artist would have gone on to join the ranks of those competitors who wore the most controversial outfits on "DWTS" too. But she has other things to keep her busy in the meantime. Delvey is currently a promoter for a new USA Network reality series called "The Anonymous," in which players can lie and scheme against each other behind the scenes. Per the network's website, she quips to the camera, "I might know a thing or two about deception."