I will be honest and admit that I do not know how to dance. I attended one or two ballroom classes at Notre Dame, and after attempting to learn the Tango and Cha Cha, I decided that dance was not my thing. Regardless, one of my favorite shows is “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS). It is only week two, and there is already so much to unpack surrounding the contestants, especially Anna Delvey.
From actors, actresses, fashion icons and Olympic medalists, season 33 of “DWTS” is full of big names, including Anna Delvey, Ezra Sosa, Stephan Nedoroscik, Rylee Arnold, Eric Roberts, Britt Stewart, Ilona Maher, Chandler Kinney, Dwight Howard, Danny Amendola, Joey Graziadei, Brooks Nadar, Phaedra Parks, Eric Roberts, Tori Spelling, Jenn Tran, Reginald VelJohnson and Brandon Armstrong. I think that this is a well-put-together cast. However, I am very interested in why they added Delvey to the mix.
I had no idea who Delvey was until I saw that she was appearing in ”DWTS” and was all over my social media, blowing up the entire internet over the resurfacing news of the crimes she committed. Today writes, “A Manhattan jury convicted her on one count of attempted grand larceny, three counts of grand larceny and four counts of theft services.” This leads me to ask, “Why does ”DWTS” want her on the show?” Another interesting fact is that Delvey did not even want to be there. According to Entertainment Weekly, “When asked by GMA what her favorite part of being on the show was, Delvey bluntly replied, ‘Getting eliminated.’” If you feel so against being on the show, why join it in the first place?
Delvey also managed to get some notice from the judges, most notably Carrie Ann Inaba. Delvey said, “You guys told me what I’m supposed to do. I tried to do it, and then I still was rejected,” Delvey also said of her time on the show, “I’m taking away nothing. This is what I’m taking away from it, because your advice was worthless. The advice did not pay off for me, even though I tried to follow it.” Inaba quickly responded, “That was dismissive not only of the opportunity she was given, of her wonderful and supportive partner Ezra in his debut season, but also of all of us who work on the show — from the dancers to behind the scenes to the creative team.” I agree with Inaba: Delvey was very ignorant and did not seem to care much about her time on “DWTS.”
Of course, while I have my opinions about Delvey being on the show, I also want to talk about Delvey's partner on the show, Sosa, as this was his first season as a pro dancer. The two danced the Cha-Cha in week one and the Quickstep in week two (which are very hard dances, in case anyone was wondering). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said, “I know what she did was really controversial and not right and I can never justify that for her or for anyone in her life.” Sosa is defending Delvey and pushing for positivity. It really says a lot about someone when they give another a second chance despite their past, which is a super important trait. I’ve always believed in second chances, so I appreciate Sosa spreading positivity.
To answer the question asked in the title, no, Delvey did not deserve to be on the show since it seemed that she had no interest in being there. Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Sosa's kindness and positivity towards her. Since the two have been eliminated, I will now be rooting for Rylee and Stephan, in case anyone is wondering (probably not, but I wanted to share anyway).
