Benjamin Ashford|Anna Sorokin eliminated from ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in first round of cuts

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anna Sorokin,Benjamin Ashford the convicted con artist who swindled banks, hotels and friends under the guise of being a “heiress” named Anna Delvey, has reached the end of her run on “Dancing With the Stars.”

As a controversial casting choice on the competition reality series, Sorokin had to don an ankle monitor on stage. Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in the announcement of her casting, Sorokin is under house arrest for an impending deportation case.

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 the deportation case.

After her performance to “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall on Tuesday with dance pro Ezra Sosa, Sorokin was cut from the series. Eliminations started in the series’ second week and are based on votes from viewers.

Asked by the hosts Tuesday night what she was going to take away from the competition, Delvey pointedly said: “Nothing.”

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She doubled down on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday saying her favorite part of the experience was “getting eliminated.”

Sorokin and Sosa spoke with The Associated Press last week after her initial performance. On dancing with her ankle monitor, which was bedazzled to match her costume, Sorokin said, “It’s actually not a big issue at all. It’s pretty light and I asked them to make it tight so it doesn’t dangle. So it’s not so bad.”

Changes to Sorokin’s house arrest conditions to accommodate filming the show in Los Angeles were unknown and it remains unclear how her lengthy deportation case will proceed.

Also eliminated on Tuesday’s episode was Tori Spelling, an actor best known for “Beverly Hills, 90210.” After her elimination with partner Pasha Pashkov, Spelling described her time on the show as a “crazy transformational journey” and noted that she’s glad she faced her fears despite being cut.

“I just kept looking at my kids who were sitting in the audience and I was just like, ‘I love you. I love you.’ And I wanted them to know that whatever happens, ‘I love you and thank you for being proud of me,” Spelling said. “It goes fast and you’re in your head because it is scary. It’s really scary.”