Dancing With the Stars Boss Defends Casting ‘Fascinating’ Anna Delvey for Season 33: ‘She Served Her Time’
Ex-convict and faux socialite Anna Delvey’s recent Dancing With the Stars casting has raised more than a few eyebrows, but she’s got at least one supporter: Dancing showrunner Conrad Green.
In a new interview with our sister publication Variety, Green defended the choice to invite Delvey on the show, calling her presence on Season 33 “very valid and interesting.”
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“We’ve always tried to be a very broad church when it comes to the types of people, the types of backgrounds, the types of stories we have on the show,” he said. “Anna is fascinating to a lot of people, a lot of people have watched the dramas about her life and have followed her story, so I think there is an inherent curiosity about her.”
Adding his prediction that Delvey will “actually present very well as a dancer,” Green said he suspects “people really want to see her. She’s a very valid and interesting part of that cast.”
“Yes, she had the issues she’s had, but we’ve had other people on the show who’ve had criminal issues in the past,” he continued. “She served her time. I think it’s perfectly valid for her to be on the show, and I think people have been really curious to see how she performs.”
Dancing With the Stars Season 33 Cast
Delvey — who is paired with first-time Dancing pro Ezra Sosa on Season 33 — was found guilty of eight charges in 2019, including grand larceny and theft of services, after she posed as a wealthy heiress and German socialite to gain access to New York’s upper-class social scene. She was notably portrayed by Ozark‘s Julia Garner in the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna, which was nominated for three Primetime Emmys (including an acting nod for Garner).
Earlier this month, Delvey’s Dancing casting immediately drew pushback, including from the ladies of ABC’s The View. Shortly after co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin criticized the choice, accusing Delvey of getting preferential treatment from the government and claiming she still owes money to the people she defrauded, Delvey responded by urging the women to “at least get your facts straight.”
“I served my time and paid everyone back in full 3+ years ago,” she wrote. “Looking forward to your on-air correction.”
Dancing With the Stars returns on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
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