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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Anna Delvey will compete on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars in an ankle monitor.
The convicted con artist, 33, whose real name is Anna Sorkin, was released from immigration jail and placed under house arrest in October 2022, months after a Netflix series based on her crimes, Inventing Anna, catapulted her to global fame.
Delvey was confirmed as a Dancing with the Stars contestant after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] authorities granted her an exemption to travel out of New York, where she lives, while wearing her ankle monitor. Usually, she cannot travel further than 75 miles.
In promotional images for the show, Delvey – who’s been convicted of attempted grand larceny in the first degree, grand larceny in the second degree, and grand larceny in the third degree – pairs the black ankle device with her glittering dancewear, which viewers have both celebrated and condemned on social media.
“Anna Delvey being on Dancing with the Stars with her ankle monitor on is maybe my favourite pop culture moment of the year,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
Meanwhile, another user complained: “She’s free to tap dance all over our legal system.”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the launch event for Dancing with the Stars, Delvey revealed she would be “bejeweling” her ankle monitor while she takes part in the series.
Referencing her professional dance partner, Ezra Sosa, the convicted felon said: “That’s gonna be Ezra’s job,” to which Sosa replied: “I literally brought my whole kit with me, we’re gonna rhinestone that sucker.”
Reflecting on swapping her period of captivity for flights to Los Angeles, where Dancing with the Stars is filmed, Delvey said: “I actually miss being on house arrest because I now have to commute and people don’t come to me anymore.”
When asked if she was “intimidated” or “nervous” to take part in the competition after her time in jail, the fraudster said: “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? They’re not gonna arrest me for dancing badly.”
For the past two years, Delvey has been under house arrest. After stealing over $200,000 from businesses while posing as a fake heiress, the New York socialite was charged and sent to prison. In 2022, she was released and placed on house arrest for overstaying her visa. Delvey was born in Russia but emigrated to Germany with her parents at a young age.
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In August, Delvey 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.
Speaking to Page Six, she said: “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. I’m also grateful and thrilled to be able to control my own narrative once again on social media.”
