Television | “Cheating heiress” Anna Sorok danced in a glittering anklet in the Dancing with the Stars program in the USA, criticism is pouring in

Doomed criminal Anna Sorokin confuses the entertainment world again, this time on the dance floor.

Finnish time, on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, some Americans held their breath when Sorokin debuted in the US Dancing with the stars in the program. On her leg she had a sparkling electric anklet.

It was the premiere of the 33rd season of the traditional program that has been running for almost 20 years.

Sorokin, who appears in the program under the name Anna Delvey, has received the nickname “swindler heiress” in the public, because she cheated more than 200,000 dollars from banks, private airlines, hotels and her own friends to maintain a high life.

Sorokin traveled the world and claimed to be a wealthy German heiress. In 2017 he was arrested in California and in 2019 he was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.

Sorokin rose to international fame in 2022, when Netflix turned his story into a popular series called Inventing Anna.

Good an anklet has not been seen before in tuule’s dance program, so in the first episode, many people’s attention was drawn to this detail, which was teased beforehand.

However, Sorokin himself emphasized the importance of the matter.

“It’s not a big deal at all,” Sorokin said about his ankle brace after the live broadcast to the news agency AP.

“It’s pretty light and I asked them to make it tight so it wouldn’t hang.”

Sorokin is a professional dancer dancing in the program Ezra Sosan with. In the first broadcast, they danced the Cha Cha cha by Sabrina Carpenter a big summer hit Espresso on the beat.

Sorokin’s the ankle bracelet is not related to his 2019 sentence, but to his years-long immigration fight in the United States.

Sorokin was released from prison in February 2021 and was expected to leave the United States. After a few weeks, the immigration authorities caught her and announced that her visa had not been overstayed and that the Russian-born woman must return to her native Germany.

Sorokin has been held at times in jail and under house arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Sorokin himself has requested asylum in the United States, which is suspected to be related According to the BBC to his Russian citizenship.

Although Sorokin still faces deportation, the authority has now granted him permission to participate Dancing with the stars series and to travel from New York to Los Angeles for the filming of the show.

Anna Sorokin participation in the program in such a situation has caused a lot of outrage in the United States.

Dancing with the stars The Disney-owned ABC channel, which shows the show, initially took a rather humorous stance on the matter.

In its press release, it described Sorokin as an “artist, fashion icon and New York’s notorious socialite” and “notorious anklet fashionista”.

In the media and on discussion forums, the channel has been accused of embellishing Sorokin’s past crimes. For example Nominated by The New York Post his participation as “the new bottom line of pop culture”.

According to the BBC, it has also been wondered why he would have the right to live and work in the United States as a citizen of Germany and Russia.

The most visible A position was taken on Sorokin’s participation The View in the program.

According to The Independent host of the program Whoopi Goldberg called the situation unfair, as normally people in a similar situation do not have the same rights to travel as Sorokin now has.

The second host of the program Alyssa Farah Griffin again said in the program that Sorokin would still owe some of his victims and urged others Dancing with the stars – competitors to “be on the lookout”.

Other contestants on the show include Olympic athletes and reality TV stars.

Sorokin recently denied the debt allegations in the messaging service X. Later, Griffin said in the same program that Sorokin’s lawyer had been in contact with the program makers.

“We talked earlier about Anna Delvey, a convicted fraudster, who is taking part Dancing with the stars program. We questioned the fairness of his participation because he’s getting an opportunity that most convicted felons and asylum seekers simply don’t get,” Griffin said.

According to him, Sorokin’s lawyer had stated that he had paid all compensation to the victims properly.

Sorokin’s and Sosa’s dance performance on Tuesday did not go completely according to plan. On social media, many considered the dance to be disappointing and boring, and the dancers themselves were not quite satisfied, said ABC.

It annoyed Sosa that all the attention was focused on Sorok’s anklet, not the dance itself.

“Now let’s be honest: the real star of the show was the anklet.”

However, for the nervous Sorokin, getting through the dance was a relief.

“I hope people will give me a chance to show what I can do. I sat my time and paid my compensation back,” he told the ABC.

Dancing with the stars With the series, the publicity that Anna Sorokin – or Anna Delvey, under which she appears all the time – will reach a whole new level. That must also be his own goal.

Since his release from prison, he has been swimming in New York’s celebrity, art and fashion circles with increasing efficiency. Among other things, he has sold his own art and started a podcast. He also reportedly threw star-studded parties at his East Village apartment.

Recently, she walked the catwalk of New York Fashion Weeks to present new fashion. In addition, there is a television The Anonymous in the series.

It’s where people lie to each other.