‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin to compete on Dancing With The Stars

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, will compete on US TV show Dancing With The Stars.

Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in a press release, Sorokin was announced on 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 on 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 – or electronic tag – she has 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 claim she overstayed her visa and must be returned to her native Germany.

The Inventing Anna inspiration was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for more than a year before a judge cleared the way for her to switch to home confinement in October 2022 while she fights the deportation case.

ICE 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 on Tuesday that she could travel within 70 miles (112km) 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 started a podcast, The Anna Delvey Show, that featured guests such as comedian Whitney Cummings and technology journalist Taylor Lorenz who travelled 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 will be competing in the upcoming 33rd season, which premieres on September 17 in the US on ABC and Disney+.

Sorokin will be joining Team USA’s breakout star from the Olympics, Stephen Nedoroscik — better known to the internet as Pommel Horse Guy.

The 25-year-old who won two bronze medals in Paris was the first contestant announced, in August fresh off his Olympic high. He became an internet sensation thanks to memes of his preparation before competing and of his Superman-like transformation before hitting the floor.

Another US Olympian to compete is Ilona Maher, the rugby player and bronze medalist who became a social media hit for her funny TikToks and body positivity content.

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.

The full list of celebrities competing on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars is:
– Former Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola
– Anna Sorokin, who is being billed as Anna Delvey
– Joey Graziadei from The Bachelor
– Former NBA champion Dwight Howard
– Chandler Kinney, star of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
– Rugby player and Olympian Ilona Maher
– Model Brooks Nader
– Gymnast and Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik
– Phaedra Parks, lawyer and Real Housewives Of Atlanta star
– Eric Roberts, actor, brother of Julia and father of Emma
– Tori Spelling of Beverly Hills 90210
– Jenn Tran from The Bachelorette
– Reginald VelJohnson of Family Matters and Die Hard