How much money could 'fake heiress' Anna Delvey make from Dancing With The Stars? (Hint: it's MORE than she swindled from her victims)
Dancing With the Stars has a 'criminal' contestant in Anna Delvey, the pretty brunette who used to pass herself off a German billionaire heiress.
And the 33-year-old former jailbird - whose real name Anna Sorokin - could make a hefty sum for her participation on the TV show.
In fact, if she does well on the series, she could pocket around $295K for her dance moves.
That is $20K more than she swindled out of unsuspecting victims around seven years ago.
From November 2016 to August 2017, she traveled for free by private plane, stayed in luxury hotels and hung out the most fancy NYC lounges without ever paying a red cent of her own money.
According to the New York justice, she stole about $275K.
Dancing With the Stars has a 'criminal' contestant in Anna Delvey, the pretty brunette who used to pass herself off a German heiress worth billions. And the 33-year-old former jailbird - whose real name Anna Sorokin - could make a hefty sum for her participation on the TV show
In fact, if she does well on the series, she could could earn around $295,000 for her work
Dancing with the Stars has never revealed the salaries for its celebrity contestants.
But according to Parade, it's a good amount of cash. One recent report claimed the winner can get as much as $295K.
According to several sources, including Variety, the starting salary for celebrities is $125,000.
But the pay increases if a star gets votes and stays in the competition.
They get an extra $10,000 per week after staying on the show for more than two weeks.
If they make it to week four or five, the additional pay is $15,000. If they make it to week six or seven then get an extra $20,000 per week. And if they make it to week eight or nine, they are given an extra $30,000 per week.
If they make the semi-finals and the finale, there is a reported additional $50,000 prize each week.
That means that the stars who make it to finale have the potential to walk away with $360,000, per Parade which did the math at 11 weeks worth of dancing.
In 2019, however, it was claimed that the pay was cut so that the maximum the final three could earn was $295,000.
That is $20K more than she swindled out of unsuspecting victims around seven years ago. Seen in court in 2019 in New York
From November 2016 to August 2017, she traveled for free by private plane, stayed in luxury hotels and frequented the most exclusive NYC lounges without ever paying a cent of her own money. According to the New York justice, she stole about $275K. Seen last week in NYC
Anna was also reportedly paid $320K for the rights to her life story for a Netflix special about her.
The wildly popular Netflix series titled Inventing Anna starred Anna Chlumsky, Julia Garner and Arian Moayed.
This comes after fans slammed DWTS for adding criminal Anna.
The fraudster made her debut for season 33 on Tuesday with a bedazzled ankle monitor.
Immediately, social media was flooded with any angry messages about her participation in the show, with many bashing the network for allowing the felon to compete on the 'famous dance floor.'
'She is a damn criminal,' one outraged viewer wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
'I hate Dancing With the Stars for allowing this piece of trash to step onto their famous dance floor,' added another. 'And her dancing is weak.'
'Anna Delvey on the show is such a joke,' a third tweet read. 'Y’all really couldn’t find someone else to cast? Ankle bracelet? WTF.'
Viewers have slammed Dancing With the Stars for including 'criminal' Delvey in its latest season
Anna danced to Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso with her partner, pro dancer Ezra Sousa
During her debut performance, Anna notably had on a very sparkly ankle monitor that was ballroom-worthy
Anna danced to Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso with her partner, pro dancer Ezra Sousa.
The judges gave her straight sixes for the performance, for a total of 18 points, and the audience was noticeably less enthusiastic while cheering for her than they were for the other competitors.
During a voiceover on the show, the felon addressed her criminal past.
She said: 'In 2017, I was accused of multiple counts of grand larceny. I did serve my time, and Dancing With the Stars is a way to show people a different side of me.
'My prior history shows I’m pretty determined. It’s a good quality to channel into something positive.'
Anna explained that she was wearing the ankle bracelet because she 'overstayed her visa because she was in jail.'
'It was hard to leave," she added with a laugh. 'I’ve reinvented myself many times. This time I’m going to be a ballroom dancer.'
Also on the show are Olympic pommel horse hero Stephen Nedoroscik, Tori Spelling, Bachelor Nation's Joey Graziadei, and Jenn Tran.
Anna spent years posing as a wealthy heiress while defrauding a series of banks, hotels, and individuals out of $275,000.
She was arrested in 2017 and found guilty of grand larceny, larceny in the second degree, and theft of services.
As soon as it was leaked last month that Anna would be on the show, many people took to social media to share their outrage.
'This next celebrity is scamming her way on to the dance floor. Here to show her dancing abilities are no fraud, it's Anna Delvey and (partner)!' one person sarcastically wrote on X.
Another said: 'I had to comment on the #DWTS cast real quick. Anna Delvey, really? Casting decisions like this is why [former longtime host] Tom Bergeron quit.'
Anna has said that she hopes viewers will be somewhat forgiving despite her criminal history.
The judges gave her straight sixes for the performance, for a total of 18 points, and the audience was less enthusiastic while cheering for her than they were for other competitors
'Hopefully people will give me a chance to show what I can do. I served my time and I repaid my restitution,' she said to the Associated Press on Tuesday.
While she was released from prison in February 2021, immigration authorities picked her up shortly after she got out, claiming she overstayed her visa and must be returned to her native Germany.
The Inventing Anna inspiration was in ICE custody for over a year before a judge cleared the way for her to switch to home confinement in October 2022, while she fights deportation.
Her release terms had to be amended to allow her to travel from New York to Los Angeles for filming of the show.
During her debut performance, Anna notably had on a very sparkly ankle monitor that was ballroom-worthy.
'It's actually not a big issue at all,' she told AP of her ankle monitor after the premiere.
'Hopefully people will give me a chance to show what I can do. I served my time and I repaid my restitution,' she said to the Associated Press on Tuesday. Seen last week in NYC
'It's pretty light and I asked them to make it tight so it doesn't dangle. So it's not so bad.'
'It's the real star of the show, let's be honest here,' her dance partner Ezra joked.
'It's not like an ankle weight. It´s not like 20 pounds. It´s like literally less than a pound and it's not a big deal.'
Afterwards, Anna acknowledged that her debut didn't go as planned, admitting to AP that she felt like she could have done a 'little bit better.'
'I feel relieved that it's over,' she said. 'I feel like my dance could have been a little bit better, but I'm happy I've done this and it was a great experience all over.'
