Anna Sorokin Eliminated From ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in First Round

LOS ANGELES – Anna Sorokin, the convicted con artist who swindled banks, hotels and friends under the guise of being an “heiress” named Anna Delvey, has reached the end of her run on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Due to her controversial casting choice for the reality show, Sorokin was required to wear an electronic bracelet on stage. Described as the “famous electronic bracelet fashionista” in her casting announcement, Sorokin is under house arrest due to an impending deportation case.

While she was released from prison in February 2021, immigration authorities picked her up shortly after her release, claiming she had overstayed her visa and should be sent back to her native Germany. The “Inventing Anna” inspiration was held by ICE for more than a year before a judge authorized her transfer to home detention in October 2022 while she fights her deportation.

After her performance of KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See” on Tuesday with professional dancer Ezra Sosa, Sorokin was voted off the show. Eliminations began in the second week of the series and are based on viewer votes.

Asked by the hosts on Tuesday night what she would take away from the competition, Delvey replied emphatically: “Nothing.”

She reiterated her enthusiasm on “Good Morning America” ​​Wednesday, saying her favorite part of the experience was “being eliminated.”

Sorokin and Sosa spoke to The Associated Press last week after her first performance. Of dancing with her electronic bracelet, which was decorated with rhinestones that matched her costume, Sorokin said: “It’s actually not a big deal at all. It’s pretty light and I asked them to make it tight so it doesn’t hang down. So it’s not too bad.”

It was not immediately clear what changes were made to Sorokin’s house arrest conditions to allow the show to film in Los Angeles, and it remains unclear how his lengthy deportation proceedings will play out.

Tori Spelling, an actress best known for her role on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” was also eliminated Tuesday. After her elimination with co-star Pasha Pashkov, Spelling described her time on the show as a “crazy transformational journey” and noted that she was glad she faced her fears despite her elimination.

“I was looking at my kids who were sitting in the audience and I was just like, ‘I love you. I love you.’ And I wanted them to know that no matter what, ‘I love you and thank you for being proud of me,’” Spelling said. “It goes by fast and you’re in your head because it’s scary. It’s really scary.”