‘It was predatory of them’: Anna Delvey claims ‘Dancing with the Stars’ exploited her

Following her elimination from Dancing with the Stars season 33, Anna Delvey has accused the show of exploiting her for attention.

Dancing with the Stars caused quite a stir when it was announced Delvey was part of its season 33 line-up. She certainly stood out amid a line-up of Olympic athletes, models, reality TV stars, and actors, given her claim to fame is a bit unusual. Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, is known for being a con artist and fraudster. She was charged with grand larceny and theft after posing as a German heiress to enter into the circles of New York’s elite and trick banks and acquaintances into loaning her money. Her story gained heightened popularity after Shonda Rhimes adapted it into the Netflix series Inventing Anna. The attention she earned from the show led to her quickly pursuing a career in art, fashion, and reality TV upon her release from prison, although she remains on house arrest.

Delvey’s fame hasn’t sat right with many, given that she’s essentially profiting from her criminal history. Hence, when it was announced that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was giving her special permission to compete on Dancing with the Stars, it stirred controversy, with EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg slamming the network for its decision. She only continued raising eyebrows as she danced with an ankle monitor and, when asked what she would take away from the competition, replied, “Nothing.” However, she has now claimed that Dancing with the Stars exploited her.

Anna Delvey takes aim at Dancing with the Stars

Delvey and her professional dancing partner, Ezra Sosa, were the first pair eliminated from Dancing with the Stars season 33. In response to the elimination, the con artist has accused the show of using her for clout. She suggested that the show never intended to keep her in the competition for long and was more concerned with the furor that her inclusion caused before the premiere. In an interview with NBC News, she stated, “I feel that the show so obviously used me to drive up the ratings, that they never had any plans to give me any chance to grow and only cared about exploiting me for attention.”

She also suggested that her elimination from the competition was not fair, as she claimed it didn’t take into account her improvement. Additionally, Delvey was candid about how the elimination made her feel “inadequate.” She told NBC News, “It was predatory of them to try [to] make me feel inadequate and stupid all while I did get progressively better, yet they chose to disregard that.” Delvey echoed the sentiments she previously shared during an appearance on the misSPELLING podcast about how she felt mistreated by the show.

When asked about her “nothing” comment, she explained that she meant it, as she felt the show hadn’t allowed her to learn much. She explained how she tried doing what the show said she needed to do to succeed but was eliminated anyway. Hence, its decision to invite her to the show didn’t mean much to her since she ultimately felt “rejected.” Delvey stated, “You guys told me what I’m supposed to do. I tried to do it and then I still was rejected. And I’m taking away nothing. This is what I’m taking away from it, because your advice was worthless … And it felt like they put so much effort trying to get me on the show, like, make me feel comfortable just to… eliminate me this early.”

Her argument against Dancing with the Stars is interesting, considering the show actually took a bit of a risk in inviting her to compete. Showrunner Conrad Green even spoke out to defend her inclusion and any criticism against her, pointing out that she served her time and it was “perfectly valid for her to be on the show.” At the same time, he did acknowledge that there’s “an inherent curiosity about her.” Whether her inclusion in the show drew negative or positive attention, it was still publicity. However, can it really be called exploitation when the show’s entire premise is to tap the biggest stars to gain attention and views?

As for the elimination, Delvey and Sosa simply didn’t get enough votes from the public, meaning it was largely out of the show’s control. Dancing with the Stars may have used her for ratings, but it’s not as if she didn’t get anything in return. According to Variety, all celebrities on the show receive a hefty starting salary of $125,000, plus the benefit of the visibility the show gives them. While it seems the elimination was hard on Delvey, the benefits she reaped from appearing on Dancing with the Stars make it difficult to call the show “exploitative.”