DWTS Pro Calls Controversial Season 33 Partner ‘Iconic’

Heavy/ABC "Dancing With the Stars" cast update.

Ezra Sosa and Anna Delvey are creating buzz ahead of the 33^rd season of  “Dancing With the Stars.”

Just after the season 33 cast announcement was made on “Good Morning America,” Sosa described his controversial celebrity partner as “iconic” and cracked a joke about her past.

In a photo shared on his Instagram page on September 4, 2024, Sosa, 23, posed with Delvey, 33, amid a glittery gold background. The newly-crowned DWTS pro paid tribute to his partner in the caption.

“Excited to announce my very first partner for DWTS is none other than the iconic @theannadelvey! 💁🏻‍♀️🪩” Sosa wrote. “Thrilled to be hitting the dance floor with someone who knows how to keep everyone on their toes—both in and out of the ballroom. We’re ready to hustle our way to the top—just without the wire transfers this time. 😘 💃🏽🕺🏽.”

But some fans were upset by the caption—and the addition of Delvey to the DWTS cast given her past. “Why are you glorifying this woman?” one commenter asked Sosa.

“Honestly… she literally stole money from people to fund a luxury lifestyle …has not apologized nor somehow acknowledged that what she did was wrong and that’s being called iconic? I’m sorry, what,” another asked.

“We are glamorizing being a criminal now, I guess. So ✨edgy,” another wrote.

Delvey clapped back at some of the comments.

After one commenter wrote to Sosa, “They did you dirty with this one. First time as a pro and they say ‘here’s a con artist who has an ankle bracelet, good luck,’” Delvey fired back with, “They should’ve picked you instead, he would’ve ended up better off surely.”

“Duuuuude. We need to draw the line somewhere,” another wrote.

“They forgot to ask you,” Delvey cracked at the critic.

“Hide your wallet!” another warned Sosa.

“From you,” Delvey clapped back.

Another commenter wrote, “This show has lost sight of their audience. Instead of glorifying convicted felons into stars by adding people like Anna to their cast. This is the beginning of the end for dancing of the stars. To those she defrauded and stole money from I can’t help but feel how they must be looking at this and wondering, where are morals ABC. Do better.”

“Do better research next time, you moron,” Delvey replied to the commenter.

Ezra Sosa Is Excited To Have Anna Delvey as His DWTS Partner

ABCEzra Sosa and Anna Delvey.

In 2019, Delvey served jail time after she was convicted of defrauding businesses while pretending to be a German heiress, according to CNN. After serving two years in jail, Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin,  was placed under house arrest. She continues to have a GPS monitor attached to her ankle, as seen in her promotional photos for ABC. Delvey was granted special permission to leave her house to compete in “Dancing With the Stars,” according to the New York Post.

Despite the controversy, Sosa is thrilled to have Delvey as his very first DWTS partner. Not only does she have a large fan base with over 1.1 million followers on Instagram, but, as Sosa told TV Insider, “She’s got nothing to hide.”

“I love Anna because she keeps it real,” Sosa tells the outlet. “And as a gay man, I just find everything she says — I’m just obsessed. I really am. She is gay culture icon. When I found out she’s my partner, [my heart] skipped a beat and I fell off the treadmill. For real. …I’m very excited she’s my partner.”

Anna Delvey Said She Has Changed Since Serving Time in Prison

Heavy/ABCAnna Delvey.

Delvey has been criticized for not appearing remorseful about her past. “I’d be lying to you and to everyone else and to myself if I said I was sorry for anything,” she told The New York Times in 2019, adding, “I regret the way I went about certain things.”

But in a follow-up- interview with the New York Times in 2022, Delvey admitted that jail changed her perspective. “It’s just impossible to have been through what I’ve been through without changing. I learned so much being in jail,” she said.

In 2023, Delvey told Variety she had many regrets. “I regret a lot of decisions I’ve made in the past. I have not made great choices. My mistakes are very public, and I will have to live with it forever.”

But she added, “I paid restitution in full, I paid my legal fees. I never had any public defender, I never took money from the government. Nobody’s paying my rent. Nobody’s paying for anything. So, people, what else is there?”