Anna Delvey, the convicted fraudster commonly known as the “fake heiress,” showed off her shiny ankle tag in her Dancing With the Stars debut on Tuesday.
Her pro dance partner Ezra Sosa described the glittery monitor as the “real star of the show” in an interview with the Associated Press after the new season premiere.
But Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, played down the significance of the tag.
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“It’s actually not a big issue at all. It’s pretty light and I asked them to make it tight so it doesn’t dangle,” she said. “So it’s not so bad.”
Despite the adjustments to her tag, Delvey—who was found guilty of theft in 2019 after she conned wealthy New Yorkers by saying she was a wealthy German heiress—wished she could have performed better in her dance routine to the tune of Sabrina Carpenter’s pop hit “Espresso.”
“I feel relieved that it’s over,” she said. “I feel like my dance could have been a little bit better, but I’m happy I’ve done this and it was a great experience all over.”
Delvey scored 18/30, trailing Pretty Little Liars star Chandler Kinney’s impressive 23/20 debut. The fraudster nevertheless did better than some of the other contenders, including Tori Spelling, who ended the night on 17/30.
Sosa suggested the ankle tag was not to blame.
“I think it’s kind of funny how people like—it’s not like an ankle weight,” he said. “It’s not like 20 pounds. It’s like literally less than a pound and it’s not a big deal.”
Delvey’s ankle tag is not related to her conviction for theft of around $275,000 from friends and financial institutions in 2019. She wears one as a result of her ongoing legal battle over her deportation from the U.S.
After being released from prison in 2021, Delvey was picked up by immigration authorities for overstaying her visa. The Germany-born fake heiress was then in ICE custody for more than a year before being allowed to continue her deportation fight while in home confinement.
