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For the past few years, Anna Delvey‘s fascinating and disturbing story has made headlines, and now the infamous con artist is writing a new chapter.
Delvey first caught the world’s attention after her arrest in 2018, as chronicled in Jessica Pressler’s in-depth article for New York Magazine. The story of the Russian-born fake heiress contained many twists in turns, most notably that “Anna Delvey” was actually Anna Sorokin, a young woman who had convinced New York society she was a German heiress. With the help of extreme confidence and numerous fake email accounts, she stayed in the city on hotels’ dimes, made extravagant trips, and even tried to set up her own business. After stealing around $200,000, she stuck affluent socialites with the bills. She was ultimately apprehended and served two years in prison for her fraudulent activity.
Since her release, Delvey has been under house arrest by order of ICE due to the lapsing of her visa. In the meantime, her life looks a little different than many who face immigration issues. Her fame has led to the creation of the 2022 Netflix drama Inventing Anna and in 2024, her casting in season 33 of the reality dance competition Dancing With the Stars ⏤ and not everyone is happy about it.
The DWTS announcement and The View’s response
It goes without saying that Delvey’s DWTS casting was always bound to be controversial. In the past, the show has featured straightforward stars like Xochitl Gomez and Alyson Hannigan, but also hasn’t shied away from more controversial figures like Carole Baskin and Olivia Jade Giannulli. A convicted con artist, though, immediately turned heads, including those of The View’s co-hosts. The conversation started when Whoopi Goldberg gave her opinion on the matter, noting that Delvey had a luxury that most people detained by ICE do not get: namely, ICE giving her special dispensation to appear on the series. “Should I think there’s a reason?” Goldberg wondered. “Is there a two-tiered system here with ICE?”
It wasn’t the ICE comments that got under Delvey’s skin, however. As the conversation continued, Delvey was accused of not taking responsibility for her crimes. “Martha Stewart, she did jail time,” Alyssa Farah Griffin said later in the segment. “I am here to see Martha Stewart thrive. Even Gypsy Rose, I put her into that category because she did the time and acknowledged wrongdoing for what she did. I’m not convinced this person has.” These statements motivated Delvey to speak out, which she did on The View’s X account:
“While you are entitled to your own opinions you should at least get your facts straight. I served my time and paid everyone back in full 3+ years ago. Looking forward to your on-air correction.”
Delvey recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the details regarding her current sentence, saying that after serving her time and paying restitution, she was put under house arrest because of her immigration status. She told the outlet that the only reason she has to wear her ankle monitor is because she’s trying to figure out how to resolve said visa issue. In other words, it has nothing to do with her conviction on grand larceny charges. That said, Goldberg has a point regarding Delvey’s situation: There’s a double standard when it comes to immigrants trying to get asylum after fleeing terrible conditions, but for Delvey, that hasn’t been the case. In fact, she’s become a household name and a television star, which is exactly what she wanted all along. Should a grifter who spent years conning innocent people be given such privileges? The View co-hosts don’t necessarily think so, but there’s no denying that Delvey’s presence on the show will be a ratings boon for the long-running reality series ⏤ and in a world where money is king, none of us should be surprised.