Anna Delvey Explains How She’s Competing on Dancing With the Stars Amid ICE Restrictions

The fake heiress and Inventing Anna subject will compete with an ankle monitor amid her house arrest, after being convicted of larceny for allegedly scamming thousands of dollars from New York’s elites to fund her luxurious lifestyle.

While speaking with Access Hollywood shortly after the Season 33 lineup was announced Wednesday, the fake heiress revealed she was given “special permission” by ICE a.k.a. the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, in order to travel to Los Angeles where the show is filmed.

“I had to wait for a while to get the permissions from the authorities,” Delvey told Access. “Thank you United States government to allow me to travel out of state. And that was the hardest part. I just got released of house arrest the first week of August. So, this is the first big thing I’m doing.”

When asked why she thinks ICE is allowing her to compete on the show, Delvey said, “That’s a question for them.”

The Inventing Anna subject — who was convicted of larceny after allegedly posing as a German heiress and scamming thousands of dollars from New York’s elites to fund her luxurious lifestyle — has been partnered up with new pro dancer Ezra Sosa on season 33 of the ABC dance competition.

In addition to announcing Delvey’s casting, DWTS also teased the dancefloor debut of her infamous ankle bracelet, which she rocked in promo photos ahead of the shows the Sept. 17 premiere.

This is not Delvey’s first foray into reality TV since her 2022 prison release, however. Last month, she made a cameo in a promo for USA Network’s strategic competition series The Anonymous.

“I might know a thing or two about deception,” she quipped in the teaser, flashing her court-ordered ankle monitoring device as she sat in her home. “Never be afraid to dress up your look — or the truth. Trust me, I’d never lie to you.”

In another promo, the convicted fraudster advised contestants that “gaslighting can be a great way to get ahead.”

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“Not that I’ve ever done it,” she joked. “Is it emotionally manipulative? Of course!”

Delvey was first arrested on larceny charges in 2017. She was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison — which included time she spent behind bars before her trial — shortly after she was convicted in 2019.

She was initially released on parole in 2021, but was detained ICE that same year amid possible deportation proceedings. She spent another year behind bars before she was released on house arrest.