‘Is there a two-tiered system here with ICE?’: EGOT winner unloads on ABC and ICE for allowing Anna Delvey on ‘DWTS’

It’s rare to see the co-host of a major show criticize their network on the show, but if there’s anyone who can pull it off with confidence, it’s Whoopi Goldberg.

Having confirmed her status as both an EGOT winner (for the uninitiated, that’s a person who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award) and an IDGAF queen in the last few years, Goldberg is a constant fixture on The View, an ABC talk show which she co-hosts with Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, and Alyssa Farah Griffin.

During a segment on Thursday, September 5, Goldberg let loose against the network and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for letting convicted con artist Anna Delvey, alias Sorokin, participate in the dance reality program Dancing with the Stars. Goldberg’s comment was as follows:

“I think back to all the families who’ve had family members arrested by ICE, who have gone to the courts to get their dad or their mother or their brother back. And this woman, they gave her permission to go do this. Now, should I think there’s a reason. Is there a two-tiered system here with ICE?”

Whoopi Goldberg on The View

Goldberg’s frustration was echoed by her co-hosts, Hostin, Haines, and Behar, who each added their two cents on the issue. Haines even made a direct reference to Donald Trump’s presidential candidature, saying, “We have a felon running for president; why are we surprised?”

The women agreed that Delvey’s appearance and race have played a critical role in her casting on the reality show, in spite of her criminal history. Her casting was announced a day before Thursday’s episode of The View, where it was confirmed that she had received special clearance from ICE to participate despite her house arrest.

Delvey came into the news following her arrest in 2017 through a sting operation, when the NYPD arrested her with the help of her friend, Rachel DeLoache Williams. She was accused of posing as a wealthy heiress and swindling multiple personalities in New York’s upper-class circles, majorly through social or art events. It was done by creating an extensive network of friends, which she made through these events, and by faking financial documents.

Anna Delvey was the subject of Netflix’s 2022 miniseries Inventing Anna, starring Julia Garner, which gave a dramatic veneer to the “socialite’s” criminal activities. She was paid $320,000 by the streamer for the rights to tell her story, and her inclusion in Dancing with the Stars is only likely going to bring her further fame and fortune.