Dancing with the Stars season 33 saw convicted felon Anna Delvey take to the dancefloor, and she received a chilly reception, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba even calling out the change in vibe she felt in the ballroom.
However, former professional Cheryl Burke has revealed that show bosses should have expected the awkwardness because Anna's inclusion is possibly sending the wrong message to viewers at home.
"We've had a lot of controversial characters on the show before, but to have someone still under house arrest… that’s a different vibe, right?" Cheryl told HELLO!
"It's one thing to have been convicted and have served time – and I don't know the ins and outs of the technicalities – but the fact that she still is under house arrest? I'm not sure what type of messaging that sends to families that watch and teenagers."
The con artist is part of the star-studded cast hitting the dance floor as part of the 33rd season of Dancing with the Stars, and the Russian native – real name Anna Sorokin – has been partnered with first-time professional Ezra Sosa.
Cheryl, however, believes that Anna would have been better served with a longtime professional such as Val Chmerkovskiy.
"I think he would have cracked her open, [helped her become] more vulnerable because of his experience on the show versus someone like Ezra, who is amazing, but to give him somebody who's a little complex, that's a lot for a first season, I would think," she added.
"I think if she wants people to like her… she has to open up a little bit and to show some emotion. The dancing is the dancing and she's got tons of talent, but if she's in her head too much, it's just not going to work out for her."
Anna ran a scam between 2013 and 2017 that saw her create a fake backstory to allow herself to become entrenched in New York's party scene.
Claiming she was a wealthy foreign heiress, Anna conned people into supporting her lifestyle by sneaking into society parties and failing to pay people back after they bankrolled luxury trips abroad and expensive meals. The 33-year-old eventually created fake bank statements and other financial documents that implied she had around $60 million in Swiss bank accounts, alleging they were tied up to a trust and she couldn't access them from the US.
She was arrested in 2017, found guilty of eight charges, and sentenced in 2019 to four to 12 years in state prison; she was released on good behavior on February 11, 2021.
She remains on house arrest, which is why she is dancing with an ankle monitor, but Cheryl believes that Anna, and Ezra, could do more to help balance the competitor from the weight of the monitor.
"She was lopsided," Cheryl shared of her dance routine, suggesting that "if she wore fringe, for example, maybe that they could have easily balanced her out".