Anna Delvey's 'Dancing With the Stars' Casting Has ABC Show's Fans Fuming

The 33rd season premieres this fall.

By Brenda Alexander

The forthcoming season of Dancing With the Stars has caused quite a riot on social media. The celebrity participants' names were released this week, and while many are happy with the competition, one name has ignited an uproar: Anna Delvey. The former "socilaite," also known as Anna Sorkin, is a convicted fruaster who posed as a wealthy heiress to access high society social circles from 2013 to 2017. She's been the subject of several documentaries and even a series. 

Aside from social media being in a frenzy, well-respected celebrities have spoken against her casting. During a segment on The View, Whoopi Goldberg slammed ABC's decision. Delvey is currently on supervised house arrest, and her promo shot for the reality dance compeition series shows her ankle monitor. Check out some of the reactions to her casting.

Is this even real?

According to one X user, it is, though they seemingly didn't believe it. Sharing Delvey's promo photo, the X user wrote: "This image looks AI but it's not. Anna Delvey: Dancing with the Stars"

Were there no other choices?

The show started out as a chance for "B-list" celebrities to reinvent themselves. But bigger-name celebrities began compeitng some years back and have only increased. One X user questioned why Delvey was selected from the large pool of candidates. "Out of all the actors, singers, athletes or influencers in the world @officialdwts picks Anna Delvey for this season?! That's embarrassing," the X user asked.

The privilege of it all

The conversation of privilege has resurfaced as a result of Delvey and her monitor dancing across the stage to compete for the coveted Mirror Ball. One X user wrote: "Anna Delvey being granted the privilege of being on Dancing With the Stars while she's on house arrest for committing multiple crimes pisses me off so so bad. Her ankle monitor is prominently featured in her promo photo. Makes me fucking sick."

Double standard

One X user wrote frankly: "Anna Delvey joining 'DWTS' Season 33—ankle monitor loud and proud. If she were Black, this would NEVER happen."

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She's unbothered

Apparently, Delvey caught wind of the conversation and joined in on the fun. She liked an Instagram comment with someone defending her casting and likening it to Donald Trump, also a convicted felon, running for office again.

What did Whoopi say?

The EGOT winner was appalled, saying that Delvey, who was not born in the U.S., is getting special privileges. "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," she said. "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?"

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