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Con artist Anna Sorokin joins Dancing With the Stars – with ankle bracelet | US news
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Con artist Anna Sorokin joins Dancing With the Stars – with ankle bracelet | US news

Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted in 2019 for defrauding banks, hotels and friends after building a false reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has launched her latest venture: Dancing With the Stars.

Sorokin, who is described in a press release as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista,” was announced on Good Morning America on Wednesday, alongside the likes of former NBA star Dwight Howard, actor Tori Spelling and Jenn Tran, The Bachelorette lead whose season ended in heartbreak 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.

Sorokin’s final starring role is further complicated by the ankle bracelet she’s been wearing since October 2022, when she began house arrest—though the show appears to be banking on it with a promotional photo of Sorokin in a sparkly dress and an ankle bracelet around her leg. Though she was released from prison in February 2021, she was detained by immigration authorities shortly after her release, claiming she had overstayed her visa and needed to return to her native Germany. The inspiration for Inventing Anna spent more than a year in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) before a judge cleared the way in October 2022 for her to be transferred to house arrest while she fights her deportation.

Ice did not respond to requests for comment regarding changes to Sorokin’s house arrest conditions to allow filming in the Los Angeles area. Sorokin’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed Tuesday that she was able to travel within a 70-mile (112 km) radius of her home base and anywhere in New York City’s five boroughs under previous house arrest conditions, but could not comment on any changes to those rules.

While under house arrest, she had to abide by an immigration judge’s condition that she not use social media, but Sorokin kept busy. She started a podcast — The Anna Delvey Show — with guests including 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 put a different spin on them,” she said in an interview with the Associated Press in June 2023.

Dancing With the Stars is the first mainstream way Sorokin is attempting to achieve that goal. She will compete in the upcoming 33rd season, premiering Sept. 17 on ABC and Disney+.

Sorokin joins Team USA Olympic star Stephen Nedoroscik—better known online as “Pommel Horse Guy.” The 25-year-old, who won two bronze medals in Paris, was the first competitor to be announced in August, fresh off his Olympic high. He became an internet sensation thanks to memes of his pre-competition preparation and Superman-like transformation before hitting the floor.

Another American 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 former member of the show’s troupe of dancers, will be among those promoted to “pro” this season; he is Sorokin’s partner. Artem Chigvintsev, who was arrested last week on domestic abuse charges, will not return as a pro.

The full list of celebrities competing in the upcoming season of Dancing with the stars: