Current:Home > Invest‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin will compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle-LoTradeCoin
‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin will compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle
View Date:2024-12-23 18:42:13
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+.
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 Olympics’ 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 U.S. Olympian will be competing: Ilona Maher, the rugby player and bronze medalist who became a social media darling 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”:
1. former Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola
2. Anna Sorokin, who is being billed as “Anna Delvey,” per the show’s release
3. Joey Graziadei from “The Bachelor”
4. former NBA champion Dwight Howard
5. Chandler Kinney, star of “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”
6. rugby player and Olympian Ilona Maher
7. model Brooks Nader
8. gymnast and Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik
9. Phaedra Parks, attorney and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star
10. Eric Roberts, prolific movie actor, brother of Julia and father of Emma
11. Tori Spelling of “Beverly Hills 90210”
12. Jenn Tran from “The Bachelorette”
13. Reginald VelJohnson of “Family Matters” and “Die Hard”
veryGood! (12151)
Related
- Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
- I’m an Expert SKIMS Shopper and I Predict These Styles Will Sell out This Month
- Will the attacks on Walz’s military service stick like they did to Kerry 20 years ago?
- All-Star, Olympian Dearica Hamby files federal lawsuit against WNBA, Las Vegas Aces
- American Idol’s Triston Harper, 16, Expecting a Baby With Wife Paris Reed
- Texas women denied abortions for ectopic pregnancies file complaints against hospitals
- Fall in Love with Disney X Kate Spade’s Lady and the Tramp Collection: Fetch Deals Starting at Just $29
- Florida now counts 1 million more registered Republican voters than Democrats
- SNL's Chloe Fineman Says Rude Elon Musk Made Her Burst Into Tears as Show Host
- Why Chappell Roan Scolded VIP Section During Her Outside Lands Concert
Ranking
- Louisiana asks court to block part of ruling against Ten Commandments in classrooms
- Musk’s interview with Trump marred by technical glitches
- Julianne Hough tearfully recounts split from ex-husband Brooks Laich: 'An unraveling'
- Why Inter Miami-Columbus Crew Leagues Cup match is biggest of MLS season (even sans Messi)
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- Old School: Gaughan’s throwback approach keeps South Point flourishing
- Selling Sunset's Chelsea Lazkani Breaks Down in Tears Over Split in Season 8 Trailer
- Left in Debby's wake: Storm floods homes, historic battlefield
Recommendation
-
'Heretic' spoilers! Hugh Grant spills on his horror villain's fears and fate
-
Californians: Your rent may go up because of rising insurance rates
-
New metal detectors delay students’ first day of school in one South Florida district
-
Powerball winning numbers for August 12 drawing: Lucky player wins in Pennsylvania
-
Mike Tyson employs two trainers who 'work like a dream team' as Jake Paul fight nears
-
Drone video captures aftermath of home explosion that left 2 dead in Bel Air, Maryland
-
As Olympic flag lands in Los Angeles, pressure turns up for 2028 Summer Games
-
Prosecutors won’t charge officers who killed armed student outside Wisconsin school