While Dancing with the Stars list of celebrities often includes celebs that have broad appeal, the show has been known to court controversy in the past. The show has included political figures that have inflamed some, but one of the new season’s dancers, Anna Delvey, has not only caused a lot of people to talk, it’s now resulted in lawyers getting involved to correct the talk.
Anna Delvey was convicted of grand larceny in 2019 after posing as a wealthy German heiress in order to defraud people and businesses. Her story became widely known thanks to the Netflix series Inventing Anna. The fact that Delvey was going to appear on Dancing with the Stars became a recent topic of conversation on The View as some of the hosts were not happy.
What The View Said About Anna Delvey
Several of The View’s hosts were critical of the decision to bring Anna Delvey onto Dancing with the Stars due to her criminal past. Delvey has been under house arrest since being released from prison due to the Russian-born woman having violated her visa. She needed to get special permission from ICE in order to compete on the show.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg also suggested that Delvey hadn’t fully paid her debts, and she still owed money to the victims of her fraud. However, it turns out that’s not necessarily the case. Delvey has reportedly paid the restitution she was ordered to, including using the $320,000 she was paid by Netflix for the rights to her story to cover her many debts.
It seems Delvey's lawyer was in contact with the show sometime after the initial statements. This resulted in The View co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffith reading a statement on the September 16 episode of the show which stated the claims of the lawyer, that all debts were paid.
How Delvey’s Lawyer Responded Following The View’s Statement
While the statement on The View didn't technically apologize for the previous statements. That's how it is being presented by Delvey's side. In a statement (via People) Anna Delvey’s lawyer accepted the "apology" on his client's behalf. The statement said…
We are thankful that The View has corrected their false and defamatory statements about Ms. Delvey. Like so many others, Anna has made mistakes and, most importantly, she has made amends by serving both time in prison and repaying all her debts in full. Anna deserves a second chance and accepts The View’s apology.
Delvey has spoken about wanting to move on from her from her past, and appearing on Dancing with the Stars is likely part of that attempt at reinvention. If you have a Disney+ subscription you can watch her take the dance floor tonight. It appears this issue is now in the past for all involved.
