Dancing With The Stars Showrunner Defends Anna Delvey's Controversial Casting: 'She Served Her Time'

Dancing with the stars Showrunner Conrad Green stands by his decision to cast Anna Delvey in season 33.

Delvey hit the headlines when he was discovered on Good morning America on September 4 that she will compete for the mirrorball trophy along with 12 other contestants.

“We’ve always tried to be a very broad church when it comes to the types of people, the types of backgrounds, the types of stories that we have on the show,” Green told Variety. “Anna is fascinating to a lot of people, a lot of people have seen dramas about her life and followed her story, so I think there’s an inherent curiosity about her.”

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Anna Delvey in ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Noting that the convicted fraudster, 33, is familiar with the “world of fashion”, he added that he believes fans will “really want to see” her on the dance floor.

“She’s a very valid and interesting part of that cast,” Green explained. “Yes, she had the problems that she had, but we’ve had other people on the show who have had problems with crime in the past. She served her time.”

“I think it’s perfectly justified for her to be on the show and I think people were very curious to see how she behaves,” he added.

Anna Delvey had to ‘seek permission from ICE’ to compete Dancing with the stars (Exclusive)

Anna Delvey in court. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorkin, became famous for posing as a wealthy German heiress and using her social position to defraud wealthy people, banks and hotels. She was arrested in 2017 and convicted of aggravated theft in the first, second and third degree and theft of services in 2019.

Her sentence included four to 12 years in prison, which was shortened when she was released in February 2021 for good behavior. Shortly after her release, Delvey was taken into custody by ICE for violating the terms of her visa. She was living under house arrest in New York while she fought her deportation case.

While I was talking to PEOPLE moments after her DWTS When the casting fell through, Delvey revealed that she had received special permission from ICE to compete on the condition that she continue to wear the ankle bracelet.

Anna Delvey says Whoopi Goldberg should ‘get her facts straight’ and demands ‘on-air correction’ after DWTS Slam

(L) Whoopi Goldberg and Anna Delvey.

ABC; Scott Gries/USA NETWORK via Getty

Soon after, the news went viral and was criticized by fans and commentators alike DWTS‘ the decision to include a convicted felon in their list of contestants.

In the episode of September 5 Viewhost Whoopi Goldberg didn’t hold back on her thoughts and slammed the network’s casting call.

“I think of all the families who had family members arrested by ICE, going to the courts to get their father, mother or brother back,” she said. “And they gave this woman permission to do it. Now, am I supposed to think there’s a reason. Is there a two-tiered system here with ICE?”

While her co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin pointed out, “I’m here for redemption, not a port of rehab: someone who has owned up and taken responsibility for what they’ve done wrong. I’m not convinced that person is. Cheaters tend to stay cheaters.”

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Dancing with the stars season 33 premieres Tuesday, September 17 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC and Disney+, and the episode is available to watch the following day on Hulu.

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Source: HIS Education