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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Anna Delvey has revealed she had to ask Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for permission to participate in the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS)
The convicted con artist, whose real name is Anna Sorkin, addressed how she made her way to Los Angeles to be in the TV show during an interview with People, published on September 4. As she was released on house arrest from ICE custody in October 2022, after overstaying her visa, she couldn’t accept the DWTS offer right away.
“Well, [DWTS] approached my team, and I had to request ICE for permission to travel out of state because it’s being filmed in Los Angeles and I’m based in New York,” she explained. “It took them about 10 days to get it through the system and to get everything approved.”
Delvey shared that when she got the approval to go on the show, she had to decide relatively quickly if she wanted to do so.
“It was very close to the starting day, so I kind of flew to LA pretty much the next day and I just decided why not?” she added.
Although Delvey knows she could be scrutinized for being cast in the show, given her criminal record, she’s not letting that get to her. “It’s just not that serious. If someone is that upset about casting on a dancing show, I don’t know what to tell them,” she said.
In 2019, she was convicted of fraud and grand larceny after she posed as a rich German heiress and successfully conned friends and big banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
She was arrested in October 2017 and was found guilty of stealing an estimated $275,000 from hotels, banks, and other institutions. After serving five years of her sentence, she was released from prison in February 2021, before being taken into ICE custody for violating the terms of her visa.
During an interview with E! News, Delvey shared what she’s “most nervous” about when appearing on DWTS. “Bad outfits,” she said. However, her partner – Ezra Sosa – was quick to shake his head, arguing that neither of them would be wearing a bad outfit “under his watch”.
“We’re making sure that never happens,” Sosa said. “If we have to get Balenciaga and Rhinestone, we will, it’s going to happen.”
While the two haven’t settled on their first looks yet, Delvey jokingly said Anna Wintour was her fashion inspiration.
“I don’t know,” she laughed before Sosa added: “Yeah, that definitely is an answer.”
Delvey’s appearance on DWTS came one month after she was granted permission to return to social media. According to Page Six, the court ruled to lift her social media ban, allowing her to reactivate her accounts on August 16.
“I would like to thank the United States government court system and especially my lawyers, John Sandweg and Catherine Hunstad, for fighting for my First Amendment rights,” the Russian-born 33-year-old told the publication in August. “I’m also grateful and thrilled to be able to control my own narrative once again on social media.”
Along with Delvey, some of the other famous contestants of this season of DWTS are The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran, former NBA player Dwight Howard, two-time Olympian Ilona Maher, Beverly Hills 90210 Tori Spelling, and the lead of season 28 of The Bachelor, Joey Graziadei.
