Why Is a Dancing with the Stars Contestant Wearing an Ankle Monitor?

Notorious con artist Anna Sorokin was confirmed to be a part of Dancing with the Stars Season 33, albeit with an ankle monitor. As such, fans of the dance competition series have many questions regarding this. Sorokin was previously convicted in 2019 for swindling banks, hotels, and friends under the alias of a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey. Sorokin and her crimes eventually became the subject of the Netflix series Inventing Anna, which starred Julia Garner. Nonetheless, Sorokin’s case has raised questions about the allure of wealth and the lengths people will go to maintain a facade.

So why is Anna Sorokin wearing an ankle monitor on Dancing with the Stars? Here is everything you need to know.

Why is Anna Sorokin wearing an ankle monitor on Dancing with the Stars?

Anna Sorokin is wearing an ankle monitor in Dancing with the Stars due to being under house arrest.

Sorokin recently got permission from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to join Dancing with the Stars’ latest season. This was after she had been persuaded to join the show. She confirmed getting the permission in a recent The Hollywood Reporter interview. This was shortly after the cast for Dancing with the Stars Season 33, had been revealed on Good Morning America.

Wearing the ankle monitor will not have any effect on her performance in the dance competition show, however. “In what way would it affect my performance? It’s actually pretty light,” Sorokin said.

According to Anna Sorokin’s spokesperson Juda Engelmayer in a statement to the Associated Press, she could travel within 70 miles of her home base and any of the five boroughs of New York City, as stipulated in her previous house arrest conditions.

Sorokin had been wearing her ankle monitor since October 2022, when her house arrest began. After her release from prison in February 2021, she was picked up by immigration authorities. They had detained her after claiming she had overstayed her visa and had to be deported back to Germany. She was in ICE custody for a year until the judge switched her to home confinement as she fought her deportation case.

The cast of the new season includes Dwight Howard, Tori Spelling, Eric Roberts, Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola, actor Chandler Kinney, Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, model Brooks Nader, Bravo star Phaedra Parks, actor Reginald VelJohnson, and Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik. Alongside these well-known personalities, Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, will be participating in the show.