Consider actress Kate Flannery among those who disagree with Anna Delvey’s participation in Dancing with the Stars.
Flannery, best known as Meredith Palmer on The Office, competed in Season 28 of the dance competition show.
She partnered with professional dancer Pasha Pashkov and got eliminated fifth overall.
Contestants from Flannery’s season may have been considered controversial, including former NFL star Ray Lewis, former NBA star Lamar Odom, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
However, Delvey’s Season 33 appearance is highly controversial because she was convicted on eight charges after posing as a German heiress in New York to defraud wealthy entities of significant funds.
Everyone from disgruntled fans to The View’s Joy Behar and former DWTS dancer Cheryl Burke has reacted to Delvey’s controversial inclusion in the cast.
Flannery is the latest to offer critical remarks objecting to the fake heiress and criminal participating in the competition.
Flannery reacts to DWTS featuring Delvey: ‘We can do better’
While on the Domenick Nati Show, Flannery indicated she’d been at the DWTS Season 33 premiere and saw the various celebs perform.
Nati asked her to give her thoughts on Delvey being allowed to participate despite her conviction, prison time, probation, and house arrest.
“I don’t think they need that vibe,” Flannery said, adding, “I really don’t. I think it’s unnecessary.”
“If they’re looking to get more people to watch the show, I don’t think that’s the way to go,” she told Nati.
Flannery said Delvey “looks like a dancer, but she’s never danced” before appearing on DWTS.
“I don’t understand all the decisions [with DWTS],” she said.
Flannery said “Maybe” when Nati asked if she believed Delvey’s inclusion in the cast is “glamorizing criminals.”
“I don’t know. I feel like we can do better than that. We can do better than that, right?” Flannery asked.
The Office star indicated that although she attended DWTS’s “opening night,” she didn’t interact with Delvey.
DWTS professional dancer gets Season 33 debut with Delvey as his first celebrity partner
Delvey was convicted in 2019 on eight charges after posing as a German heiress and scamming various institutions and friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. After getting released from prison in 2021, she had to go to an immigration detention facility for 18 months due to alleged visa issues.
In 2022, she was released from the detention facility on bail and went on house arrest during her ongoing fight against deportation to Germany. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement allowed her to participate in DWTS if she continued to wear her ankle monitor.
Ezra Sosa is the professional dancer guiding Delvey through dance steps and helping her learn routines for DWTS. For the 23-year-old Sosa, it’s his debut on the dance competition show.
During the premiere, DWTS co-host Julianne Hough asked Delvey about her appearance and first official dance on TV.
“I hope America will get a chance to see a different side of me,” she told Hough, confessing she was happy she wouldn’t have to do that dance again.
Many fans have continued expressing outrage and frustration about Delvey appearing on DWTS while flaunting a bedazzled ankle monitor. However, some seem in favor of her continuing on the show.
She and Ezra achieved an 18 score from judges for their cha-cha dance set to Sabrina Carpenter’s hit, Espresso. Unless Delvey gets a lot of votes, she could go home in Week 2, as a double elimination looms.
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.