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Former “Dancing with the Star” contestant and convicted felon Anna “Delvey” Sorokin is speaking out following her week-two elimination, claiming the show was “predatory” and cast her solely to garner views.
The 33-year-old, born under the Soviet regime in Russia, says she wasn’t given a fair shot.
“I feel that the show so obviously used me to drive up the ratings, that they never had any plans to give me any chance to grow and only cared about exploiting me for attention,” Sorokin told NBC News via email. “It was predatory of them to try [to] make me feel inadequate and stupid all while I did get progressively better, yet they chose to disregard that.”
“It felt like I was never really given a fair chance by the viewers or some of the judges given their nonsensical scoring,” shared Sorokin, who scored an 18 and 17 (out of 30 total points) for the two dances she performed each week. “It’s supposed to be a dance competition and not a popularity contest.”
Anna “Delvey” Sorokin was paired with professional Ezra Sosa for the 32nd season of “Dancing with the Stars.” (Disney/Eric McCandless/Getty Images)
“I’m trying to start a new chapter moving past mistakes I made and regret when I was much younger,” Sorokin added. “Not sure when people will finally afford me that second chance and stop persecuting me so I have the opportunity to move on with my life.”
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Anna Sorokin believes that she was cast to boost ratings. (Disney/Eric McCandless/Getty Images)
“It’s supposed to be a dance competition and not a popularity contest.”
After posing as an affluent heiress (Anna Delvey) for years, defrauding institutions and individuals, Sorokin was found guilty of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services in 2019. She was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.
She served two years behind bars before being released on parole, only to be picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to an expired visa. Sorokin was eventually released from jail in 2022, and placed under strict house arrest, without access to social media. Before joining the “Dancing with the Stars” cast, ICE had to grant Sorokin permission.
Anna Delvey is photographed in Manhattan Supreme Court in May 2019. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
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Social media users initially had a field day after ABC announced Sorokin had joined the cast, many expressing outrage. Backlash and hysteria were only amplified after promo shots of Sorokin and her dance partner, Ezra Sosa, were released, with Sorokin’s court-issued ankle monitor visibly on display.
Anna “Delvey” Sorokin’s ankle monitor elicited massive conversation on social media. (Disney/Andrew Eccles)
When speaking to Fox News Digital during the premiere episode, Sorokin joked that production “took the measurements” of her ankle monitor to ensure it matched perfectly with her elaborate costume.
WATCH: ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ CONTESTANT ANNA ‘DELVEY’ DETAILS ANKLE MONITOR LOOK
In a podcast episode released this weekend, Sorokin reiterated her frustrations while speaking with Tori Spelling. The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star was also a contestant on the competition show and was eliminated the same week as Sorokin.
“It felt like a waste of time for me to just do all of this. For them to just discard me so easily,” Sorokin told Spelling on her “misSPELLING” podcast. “It seems like it’s been mostly [a] negative experience, at least for me, then it was a positive one.”
Anna Sorokin, photographed during the elimination, went viral for her lackluster and unapologetic answer about taking away “nothing” from the “Dancing with the Stars” experience. (Disney/Eric McCandless/Getty Images)
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After being eliminated last Tuesday, Sorokin went viral for her response to what she’d take away from the show. “Nothing,” she told professional dancer turned co-host, Julianne Hough.
“That was the truth,” Sorokin told Spelling of her honest, unapologetic reaction on elimination night. “[The show] told me what I’m supposed to do. I tried to do it, and then I still was rejected. And, I’m taking away nothing,” she said. “Your advice was worthless. The advice that you gave me did not pay off for me, even though I tried to follow it.
Sorokin and ABC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
