“Inventing Anna”: Julia Garner plays con artist Anna Delvey
Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, is making headlines again after her story was told in a new Netflix show. But who is the so-called German heiress?
Scott L. Hall, Callie Carmichael and Patrick Colson-Price, USA TODAY
Anna Delvey joins the cast of “Dancing with the Stars.” Her partner is overjoyed. The Internet? Outraged.
The convicted con artist turned influencer sparked heated reactions after the ABC reality show announced Wednesday that she would be participating in the 33rd season of the dance competition on “Good Morning America.” Wearing her ankle bracelet in the show’s official promo photo, Delvey told People magazine she received permission from ICE to participate.
Delvey, who is set to team up with pro Ezra Sosa in the first season, first made headlines online in 2018 when her former friend and author Rachel Williams wrote a viral Vanity Fair article about the scam. Rumors of her alleged “DWTS” casting had surfaced days before the official announcement, but ABC declined to comment on the casting rumors until the “GMA” announcement.
Anna Delvey, Jenn Tran and Tori Spelling Join the cast of Dancing With the Stars
Fans of the show – and “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg – were not happy with the casting.
ABC calls Anna Delvey a “fraudster” in the casting announcement for “DWTS”
But the “false heiress,” as some call her, was already causing controversy long before her time in the ballroom.
Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, was convicted in 2019 of stealing $275,000 from hotels, banks and New York’s upper class to fund her luxurious lifestyle and burgeoning business plans. She was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison and served just over three years. In the fall of 2022, she was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been under house arrest since then for overstaying her visa. That case is still pending.
Her story became the subject of the hit Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” starring actress Julia Garner, and tells how the young Russian woman, posing as a German heiress named Anna Delvey, defrauded New York’s elite of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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In its official “DWTS” casting press release, the show described Delvey as “an artist, fashion icon and infamous New York socialite who gained international attention after Netflix bought the rights to her story and developed it into the 2022 miniseries ‘Inventing Anna.'”
The press release continues: “Some consider her a cunning con artist, while others consider her a charismatic and ambitious entrepreneur who exploited New York’s social elite to open a prestigious art studio. Her case has also sparked discussions about wealth, privilege and social advancement in modern society.”
Her prison sentence is not mentioned in ABC’s press release.
Fans disagree about “cheater” casting on “Dancing with the Stars”
While Delvey’s partner Ezra Sosa told his followers on Instagram that he was “excited” to compete with the celebrity, not all fans agreed with the new professional dancer.
One X-user wrote: “Anna Delvey is on season 33 of DWTS — wearing an ankle bracelet, loud and clear. If she was black, this would NEVER happen.”
“People complain about Anna Delvey’s participation in ‘Dancing with the Stars’ because it ‘glorifies a criminal,’ but that’s exactly the type of person that should be cast on a show like this and whoever suggested it deserves an Emmy,” said one in defense of the ‘DWTS’ casting.
Julia Garner on playing a sympathetic sociopath in Shonda Rhimes’ new Netflix series “Inventing Anna”
Comments under the “DWTS” cast introduction on Instagram were flooded with mixed reviews of Delvey: “I wonder if Anna can add rhinestones to her ankle bracelet,” while Sosa wrote that he “will put rhinestones on the ankle bracelet RIGHT NOW.”
Another commented: “I don’t get it, this is Dancing with the Stars, not Dancing with the Criminals,” and one commenter said: “And before you know it, Gypsy Rose (Blanchard) will be spinning around and fighting for the disco ball trophy.”
One said: “In the comments, people are clutching their pearls over an ankle bracelet. This is showbiz people, live a little.”
Whoopi Goldberg criticizes ICE, claiming there is a “two-tier system”
Social media users weren’t the only ones who were disappointed. Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg expressed her disappointment on the sister show of “The View,” which airs on ABC, the same network as “DWTS.”
“We have to support the network,” Goldberg said, acknowledging the relationship but also telling viewers, “I think back to all the families whose family members were arrested by ICE, who went to court to get their father or their mother or their brother back, and they gave this woman permission to do that.”
She added: “Should I now assume that there is a reason? Is there a two-tier system here at ICE?”
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But co-host Sara Haines jokingly called out a former president during the daytime talk show’s panel discussion.
“We have a felon running for president. Why are we surprised?” Haines said, referring to former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a New York hush money trial in May.
“Dancing with the Stars” returns on September 17 at 7 p.m. Central Time.
Contributors: Kinsey Crowley
