Anna “Delvey” Sorokin explained how she is able to compete in the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, despite being on house arrest.
The crimes Anna committed while posing as a German heiress led to her being found guilty of grand larceny in the second degree, attempted grand larceny, and theft of services in 2019. Her story subsequently served as the basis for the Netflix series Inventing Anna.
However, despite Anna completing her prison time and even getting out early for good behavior, she was detained in 2021 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying her visa. In October 2022, she began her house arrest while continuing to fight to stay in the US legally.
Despite still being under house arrest, Anna will be competing on DWTS Season 33 — though she will have to wear an ankle monitor throughout. In a new interview with People, Anna explained how she was even legally able to participate.
“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,” she continued. “By the time I got the approval, 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?”
When asked about any criticism over her casting, the scammer replied, “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.”
Hear that, kids? Who needs immigration reform when you can just be famous enough to get on a reality show!