Maks Chmerkovskiy Slams Anna Delvey’s Casting on ‘DWTS’

Maks Chmerkovskiy is not mincing words when it comes to his thoughts about convicted felon Anna Delvey‘s casting on Dancing With the Stars.

While talking about casting the 13 celebrities on each season of DWTS on the “TMZ Podcast” on Monday, September 23, Chmerkovskiy, 44, broke down the types of contestants they look to fill specific archetypes, including beloved but older icons, retired athletes, young rising stars and more. However, when it came to discussing Delvey’s controversial casting on the current season of the long-running show, the pro dancer didn’t hold back his disapproval.

“So those are the kind of qualities you put together. And then there’s like, ‘OK, so who’s going to draw attention?’ And now you’re talking about someone like an Anna character, right?” Chmerkovskiy began. “So my struggle here … I can see both sides. I can also be on the production side and I can be on the viewer side and understand it all. But if you want an ankle [bracelet] and sort of this, ‘Damn, this is going to draw attention,’ and the scandalousness of it all – I mean, there’s so many other people you can choose from.”

When asked if he’s a fan of Delvey, 33, Chmerkovskiy continued, “Absolutely not. It doesn’t matter [who I would choose as a replacement]. To me, [Delvey’s] job was a professional liar. You’re gonna bring that person [on stage] and say, ‘Here’s a platform that a lot of people waited their entire actual career to be a part of,’ to also get a moment of a personal story [where they] can say, ‘This is who I actually am.’ Will I believe anything this lady says? Absolutely not.”

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Chmerkovskiy went on to critique Delvey’s cha-cha dance — in which she sported a bedazzled ankle monitor — sharing that he thought “she wasn’t great” and she was “very kind of standoffish in a lot of things.”

“You can blame the nerves and say, ‘Hey, everybody’s human and this person is not used to that stage.’ Bulls—,” he said. “Hold on a second — didn’t she con people into believing she was, like, fully fashion this and special like that? And that takes a lot of guts. It takes a lot of self-control to present yourself a certain way, even if you’re so nervous. I don’t buy this ‘she was nervous’ stuff. She’s a sh—y dancer, and [her] personality is not really going to help her in this competition.”

After he was asked how far Delvey would go in the competition alongside partner and newcomer Ezra Sosa, Chmerkovskiy replied, “I don’t care. She’s not somebody I tune in to watch … I’m not saying anything that no one else is saying.”

Delvey was arrested in 2017 and indicted on multiple counts of grand larceny and misdemeanor theft. She was released from prison on parole in 2021 and was put under house arrest one year later after being taken into custody for overstaying her visa. (A famous New York magazine profile about her was adapted for Netflix’s 2022 series Inventing Anna.)

“When you are partnered with someone, like, with her story, you have no other option but to lean into it,” Sosa, 23, explained during a recent interview on the “Lightweights” podcast. “Like, that’s the only way you can really win people over is taking what she is and her story and just really going for it. Even though some people might not like it, no matter what, you’re gonna be watching anyway.”

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After their debut performance during the season premiere earlier this month, Sosa and Delvey denied that they felt a palpable shift of energy in the crowd as they performed.

“When we go out there and we’re dancing, it’s just us two on the floor, and we honestly don’t [notice the crowd],” Sosa exclusively told Us Weekly. “Even when we finished the dance, we’re not really thinking about applause or anything.”

Delvey added, “It’s hard to say because we just moved fresh off the stage. I’m not sure what the public’s reaction was yet, so it’s hard to say.”

Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day.