Anna Delvey Claims DWTS Was Exploitative and “Predatory”

After being eliminated from Dancing With the Stars earlier this month, Anna Delvey explained why she felt “used” by the ABC reality show competition. 

By Olivia Evans Sep 30, 2024 4:49 PMTags

Anna Delvey Calls Her Appearance on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ “Exploitative”

Anna Delvey wasn’t going to dance through the pain. 

The fake heiress didn’t mince words when sharing how she felt about her negative experience on Dancing With the Stars after being axed during the show’s first round of eliminations.

“I feel that the show so obviously used me to drive up the ratings, that they never had any plans to give me any chance to grow and only cared about exploiting me for attention,” Anna told NBC News in an email statement. “It was predatory of them to try [to] make me feel inadequate and stupid all while I did get progressively better yet they chose to disregard that.” 

E! News has reached out to ABC for a response regarding Anna’s latest comments but has not yet heard back. 

This isn’t the first time Anna, who was cut alongside fellow competitor Tori Spelling and their respective pro partners Ezra Sosa and Pasha Pashkov during the Sept. 24 episode, has shared her candid take on her short-lived experience on the series. In fact, the 33-year-old also recently defended her viral comment where she said she took away “nothing” from her time on the series.

“You guys told me what I’m supposed to do,” she said directed at DWTS producers during the Sept. 28 episode of Tori’s MisSPELLING podcast. “I tried to do it, and then I still was rejected. I’m taking away nothing. This is what I’m taking away from it because your advice was worthless.”

Anna, whose conviction of grand larceny and theft of services for defrauding wealthy individuals and businesses led to criticism over her casting, expressed how being on the show wasn’t worth the hassle after her early elimination.

“It felt like they put so much effort trying to get me on a show, make me feel comfortable, just to eliminate me this early,” she added. “It just felt a bit upsetting to me. It felt like a waste of time for me to do all of this for them to just discard me so easily.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

Meanwhile, Tori also noted on her podcast that she was surprised she was voted off so soon. And her estranged husband Dean McDermott echoed those sentiments.

“I actually thought Dancing With the Stars was a dance competition and not a popularity contest but it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong,” Dean said in a Sept. 26 Instagram video. “You did a great job. I think you should still be on the show. But that’s just me. I’m biased. So proud of you. Keep kicking ass, Tori. You’re awesome.”

Tori and Anna may have evacuated the dance floor, but keep reading to see who is still in the running for this season’s Mirrorball.

(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Anna Delvey 

The inspriation behind Inventing Anna will trade her ankle bracelet for dancing shoes alongside partner Ezra Sosa. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Ilona Maher

The Olympic rugby player is ready to ruck up the dance floor with pro Alan Bersten. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Chandler Kinney 

The Disney Channel star will try to dance her way to the top with partner Brandon Armstrong. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Brooks Nader 

The model and her partner Gleb Savchenko are ready to strut along the ballroom. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Eric Roberts 

The Dark Knight star is partnered with Britt Stewart. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Reginald VelJohnson

All that matters for this Family Matters alum and partner Emma Slater is taking home the mirrorball trophy. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Joey Graziadei

The Bachelor alum has found his rose between thorns in partner Jenna Johnson. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Tori Spelling 

The alum of 90210 is oh so ready to dance alongside Pasha Pashkov. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Danny Amendola 

The NFL pro and partner Witney Carson are sure to score a touchdown on the dance floor. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Dwight Howard 

The NBA star is sure to stand head and shoulders above the competitoin with partner & Daniella Karagach. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Stephen Nedoroscik 

The Olympian has his sights set on another medal—or should we say mirrorball trophy—with partner Rylee Arnold. 

Disney/Andrew Eccles

Phaedra Parks 

The Traitors alum is sure to weed out the competition with partner Val Chmerkovskiy. 

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic & Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Jenn Tran

The Bachelorette star and partner Sasha Farber will be in full bloom in the ballroom. 

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