It’s a familiar lineup for this season’s “Dancing with the Stars.”
The athletes are: former NFL receiver Danny Amendola and Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedorosik. There are reality TV stars: Jane Tran of “The Bachelorette” and “Real Housewives” cast member, Phaedra Parks. There are actors whose stars have faded: Eric Roberts and Tori Spelling.
But there’s also an eye-opening choice: Anna Sorokin, the fake heiress convicted of embezzlement and theft, who was announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America” along with the rest of the cast for Season 33 of the show.
Sorokin was masquerading as “Anna Delvey”, claiming to be a wealthy German heiress, and she used that identity. People in New York City Society Of the large sum, the jury found. She was sentenced in 2019 to four to 12 years in prison and is set to be released in 2022.
“I’d be lying to you and everyone else and myself if I said I was sorry for anything,” she said. told the New York Times In 2019.
ABC, which airs “Dancing with the Stars,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sorokin’s casting.
A news release The cast reveal identified her as Anna Delvey, not Sorokin, and described her as “artist, fashion icon and notorious NYC socialite”.
“Some see her as a cunning scam artist, while others see her as a charismatic and ambitious entrepreneur who took advantage of New York City’s social class in an attempt to open a prestigious art studio,” it states.
Opinion on social media was mixed, with some viewers confused or even disappointed by his inclusion of someone with a criminal history, and others wondering if Sorokin was stretching the definition of “star”. Still, there were those who were excited about her casting.
Sorokin’s look is potentially complicated by an ankle bracelet She is currently wearing Because she fights deportation to Germany, where she lived as a teenager. The show published a photograph of her in a sparkling silver minidress with a monitoring device clearly visible on her ankle.
It’s not the first time a divisive figure has turned on “Dancing with the Stars,” causing a stir and possibly a ratings boost.
Here are some other names that have been unexpectedly cast, and not always to every fan’s liking:
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 2007, 9th place
One of the best boxers of his generation, Mayweather was friends with the rich, famous and other celebrities, making him a great candidate for a reality show. But he also went into his appearance with a history of violence against women, including domestic violence and battery Beliefs.
Tom Deal, 2009, retracted
Like any partisan politician, Daley, a Texas Republican and former majority leader of the House of Representatives, was always going to be a polarizing choice for the show. But his selection also sparked controversy as he resigned from the Congress after allegations of campaign finance violations. At the time, the case was still pending; It was finally Three years imprisonment Before the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction.
Paula Dean, 2015, 9th place
Celebrity chef Dean was accused in a discrimination lawsuit of making derogatory comments about black people. However The lawsuit was dismissed In 2013, in a deposition in the case she admitted to using a racist slur, which costs her Television, book and endorsement deals.
Ryan Lochte, 2016, 7th place
Lochte, an Olympic swimmer, was selected for the show shortly after Contretemps at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Lochte and his three companions Said they were robbed At gun point, a black eye for the host city. However, it soon transpired that the alleged robbers were security guards at the gas station confronting the swimmers as At least one of them vandalized the bathroom.
Carol Baskin, 2020, 14th place
Baskin, an animal-rights activist, became famous in this Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” which revolves around her long-running feud with private zoo owner Joe Exotic and his ultimate plan to kill her, for which he is sent to prison. But the program also hinted that Baskin may have been involved in her ex-husband’s disappearance in 1997, which she denied. Although Baskin was not charged in connection with the disappearance – and still is not – many viewers blamed her in their minds.
Adrian Peterson, 2023, 11th place
A star running back in the NFL for years, Peterson pleaded no contest in 2014 to charges that he beat his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. He was Suspended from the league and received fines, probation and community service.
Bristol Palin, 2010; Bobby Bones, 2018; Sean Spicer, 2019
The criticism of these three dancers was more benign, but more directly relevant to the competition: viewers and judges alike felt that they were simply not good dancers.
Usually, two left feet means a quick exit from the show. But thousands of fans who voted in a competition based on a combination of audience and judges’ scores loved the trio and supported them week after week despite the judges’ scorn.
In Spicer’s case, President Donald J. Times columnist Gia Kurlas, Trump’s former press secretary wrote that his dance “remains consistent in its horror.”
Still, Spicer finished sixth. Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin was third, and Bones, the radio personality, probably won.
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