Anna Delvey Stands by Viral DWTS 'Nothing' Comment
Anna Delvey doesn’t regret saying that she will take “nothing” from being on Dancing With the Stars. After making the viral comment following her elimination from the show on September 24, the fake heiress stood by her stance on the Saturday, September 28, episode of Tori Spelling’s “misSPELLING” podcast.
“That was the truth,” Anna, 33, told Tori, 51, who was also eliminated during week 2 of season 33. She also expressed her frustration with the show for eliminating her over other dancers she felt were weaker, like Eric Roberts and Reginald VelJohnson.
“It is what it is and it’s fine,” she continued. “And I never had high expectations on the show for myself. It just seems like … it seems like it’s been mostly a negative experience, at least for me, than it was a positive one.”
After it was announced that Anna was one of the eliminated contestants, host Julianne Hough asked her what she would take away from her experience on the competition show. Anna simply replied, “Nothing,” and received major backlash online for her negative reaction.
During the podcast interview, she added, “[They] told me what I’m supposed to do. I tried to do it. And then I was still rejected. And I’m taking away nothing. This is what I’m taking away from it – because [their] advice was worthless.” Anna and Tori were the first two celebrities eliminated from the show this season.
“The advice [they gave] did not pay off for me, even though I tried to follow it,” she continued. “And this is how I felt. I know people were trying to interpret my answer in different ways, but no, not really. I really did not take away much from this experience.”
DWTS eliminations are based on a combination of judges scores and viewer votes, so sometimes dancers who score lower, but are fan favorites, last longer in the competition. Anna admitted that she found it “a little bit unbelievable” that she was sent home before some of the other stars.
“I felt like, well, they’re building me up,” she said. “It’s like, oh, well, ‘Only if you smile more, only if you do, like, x, y, z, it’s going to be so much better for you.’ And I felt like they put so much effort into trying to get me on the show [and], like, make me feel comfortable just to … eliminate me this early.”
However, she did acknowledge the show’s producers and fellow cast members for defending her amid backlash from the public about her casting. “I think I had to be on the defensive, especially after all the backlash that I received being cast on the show,” the con artist said. “Even though the producers [tried] to defend me. And I think everyone on the cast was generally very nice to me. But in the end … I don’t know.”
Anna was partnered with Ezra Sosa on the show. It was his first season as a full-time pro dancer in the cast.