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Con artist Anna Sorokin to compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle
By The Associated Press,
5 days ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted of swindling banks, hotels and friends in 2019 after falsely building a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has found her newest venture: “Dancing With the Stars.”
Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in a press release, Sorokin was announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America” along with the likes of former NBA star Dwight Howard, actor Tori Spelling and Jenn Tran, “The Bachelorette” lead whose season ended in heartbreak just Tuesday night. Tran, the first Asian American “Bachelorette,” was a contestant on Joey Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor” — and he, too, will be vying for the trophy.
Complicating Sorokin’s latest starring role is the ankle bracelet she’s worn since October 2022, when she started her house arrest — though the show appears to be leaning into it with a promo image of Sorokin in a glittering dress and an ankle monitor on her leg. While she was released from prison in February 2021, immigration authorities picked her up shortly after she got out, claiming she overstayed her visa and must be returned to her native Germany. The “Inventing Anna” inspiration was in ICE custody for over a year before a judge cleared the way for her to switch to home confinement in October 2022 while she fights the deportation case.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not returned requests for comment regarding changes to Sorokin’s house arrest conditions to accommodate filming in the Los Angeles area. Sorokin’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed Tuesday that she could travel within 70 miles (112 kilometers) of her home base and anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City under previous house arrest conditions, but could not comment on any changes to those rules.
While under house arrest, she had to abide by the immigration judge’s condition that she does not use social media, but Sorokin kept busy. She started a podcast —“The Anna Delvey Show”— that featured guests like comedian Whitney Cummings and technology journalist Taylor Lorenz who traveled to her apartment in New York’s East Village to record.
“So many people became famous for bad things and were able to kind of segue it into something different,” she said in a June 2023 interview with The Associated Press.
“Dancing With the Stars” is the first mainstream way Sorokin is attempting to accomplish that goal. She’ll be competing in the upcoming 33rd season, which premieres Sept. 17 on ABC and Disney+.
Slideshow: Celebs competing in new season of “Dancing With the Stars”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on January 24, Reginald VelJohnson attends the 26th Annual Family Film And TV Awards in Los Angeles, California. The 26th Annual Family Film And TV Awards airs on Saturday, Jan. 27 (8:00 PM-9:00 PM, ET/PT), exclusively on the CBS Television Network and available for live and on-demand streaming via Paramount. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Family Film and TV Awards)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 25: Jenn Tran attends the Deadpool & Wolverine The Bachelorette Special Screening at AMC The Grove 14 theater in Los Angeles, California on July 25, 2024. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
FILE – Tori Spelling arrives at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Spelling will appear on the celebrity dance competition series “Dancing with the Stars.” (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE – Eric Roberts poses at the premiere of the film “Babylon,” on Dec. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles. Roberts will appear on the celebrity dance competition series “Dancing with the Stars.” (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 06: Phaedra Parks attends the Kelli Ferrell Live Cooking Demo & Pop-Up Shop at Williams-Sonoma Ponce City Market on August 06, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Stephen Nedoroscik, of the United States, celebrates after winning the bronze medal during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual pommel finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Model Brooks Nader leaves the field after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
FILE – Ilona Maher attends the TIME Women of the Year Gala in West Hollywood, Calif., on March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Chandler Kinney arrives at a special screening of “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” on Friday, July 15, 2022, at Warner Brothers Studio SJR Theater in Burbank, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
FILE – Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard during an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, on Jan. 13, 2022, in Phoenix. Howard will appear on the celebrity dance competition series “Dancing with the Stars.” (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
Joey Graziadei at the Entertainment Community Fund Gala held at The New York Marriott Marquis on April 8, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
FILE – New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) reacts during the second half of NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game against the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. Amendola, who earned two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and became one of Tom Brady’s favorite playmakers during his five seasons in New England, is retiring. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE – Anna Delvey, also known as Anna Sorokin, poses at her apartment in New York, May 26, 2023, to promote her podcast, “The Anna Delvey Show.” (AP Photo/John Carucci, File)
Other contestants include former Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola; Chandler Kinney, star of “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”; model Brooks Nader; Phaedra Parks, attorney and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star; Eric Roberts, prolific movie actor, brother of Julia and father of Emma; and Reginald VelJohnson of “Family Matters” and “Die Hard.”
The series hosted by Alfonso Riberio and Julianne Hough also announced that Ezra Sosa, a previous member of the show’s troupe of dancers, will be among those promoted to a “pro” this season; he is partnered with Sorokin. Artem Chigvintsev, who was arrested last week on a domestic violence charge, will not be return as a pro.
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