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Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars” has started and fans are buzzing over the slate of contestants. DWTS contestant Anna Delvey has drawn a lot of attention already, and not especially positive attention.
There are almost always one or two controversial or divisive contestants each season, and that is certainly the case with season 33, too. The decision to cast Delvey has been especially controversial, given that as People noted, her fame comes from being a convicted felon.
On September 12, Variety shared what “Dancing with the Stars” showrunner Conrad Green had to say about Anna Delvey joining the cast. He made no apologies and backed the decision.
Green told Variety, “She served her time.”
The DWTS Executive Says Anna Delvey Is a ‘Valid’ Member of the Cast
Green noted, “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.”
He continued, “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.”
“I think she’ll actually present very well as a dancer. I think people really want to see her,” Green added.
Green also insisted, “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.”
DWTS Fans Aren’t Pleased With Delvey’s Casting
“Dancing with the Stars” fans have had a lot to say about Delvey’s casting and even more to say about Green’s comments.
“At least it’s an improvement over having a child abuser like last season. I’d take someone who stole money over that,” one Reddit user shared in the “Dancing with the Stars” subreddit.
“Ok maybe she has [served her time] but she’s not a star,” noted another Redditor.
In general, “Dancing with the Stars” fans have been quite critical of the decision to cast Delvey.
“I think it’s so irresponsible to have her on the show,” one show fan tweeted the day of the premiere.
“Hope she’s the first one voted off,” tweeted another show fan.
“Very disappointed that @officialdwts chose to put Anna Delvey and her bedazzled ankle monitor on this show. Giving her a platform is downright disgusting,” someone else’s tweet read.
Delvey Wears an Ankle Monitor While Fighting Deportation
Some “Dancing with the Stars” fans aren’t familiar with Delvey or are confused about why she currently wears an ankle monitor. As Today shared, authorities arrested Delvey in 2018.
Delvey, whose real last name is Sorokin, spent two years in prison after receiving a sentence of four to 12 years in May 2019, Today reported.
The media outlet noted that a Manhattan, New York jury delivered a conviction on four counts of theft services, three grand larceny counts, and one attempted grand larceny count.
Authorities accused Delvey of pretending to be a German heiress and conning people, hotels, and banks out of approximately $200,000. Her story inspired the 2022 Netflix show “Inventing Anna.”
Today indicated that Delvey was released in February 2021 with parole. Six weeks later, as the BBC reported, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Delvey.
The BBC reported that after her February 2021 release from Rikers Island jail, Delvey was supposed to leave the United States. However, she didn’t. The media outlet indicated Delvey’s ICE detainment was due to her overstaying her visa.
According to the BBC, Delvey is fighting her deportation and is under house arrest. That is why she wears the ankle monitor “Dancing with the Stars” fans have seen, and she needed to get permission from ICE to participate in the show.
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