Joey Graziadei Defends Anna Delvey After DWTS Casting Backlash

The Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei defended Anna Delvey for competing on Dancing With the Stars after the show faced backlash for casting the con artist.

Just days before Dancing With the Stars returned for season 33 on Tuesday, September 17, Joey, 29, shared his first impression of Anna, 33. After noting that her casting was a “huge story,” Joey told The U.S. Sun, “To tell you the truth, I’ve gotten to meet Anna a few times. She seems great.”

“I have not had a lot of interactions,” Joey continued before acknowledging that he was more focused on himself than Anna. “But my mindset right now is I’m just focusing on how not to make an idiot [of] myself in a few days so that is where my head is.”

He continued, “I try not to focus on all the noise around it. I’m happy for everyone that’s got an opportunity this season and for me, like I said, my focus is on trying to make sure I keep my feet under me. That’s really where my head’s been at.”

Joey – who is partnered with Jenna Johnson for the season – added that everyone has been “amazing,” specifically the professional dancers.

“They really do focus on each individual feeling important, getting their ability to focus on what they should be focusing on, which is the dancing, and getting as good as you can before night one,” he said.

Joey shared his thoughts on Anna after the show faced backlash for casting her. Sonn after it was revealed that she would appear on the reality show, several fans took to X to express their complaints.

“Anna Delvey on the show is such a joke. Y’all really couldn’t find someone else to cast? Ankle bracelet? Wtf I’m sorry but if she was a minority, she would not have been casted,” one person wrote. Another chimed in, “I’m offended that @officialdwts has cast Anna Delvey on this season of #DWTS. She is a con artist and a criminal.”

The backlash continued as a third person added, “Anna Delvey should NEVER have been cast on this show. They’ve been scraping the bottom of the barrel for ‘stars’ for years, but giving this person a platform is disgusting.”

Anna first gained popularity when she was arrested in 2019 for posing as a German socialite and scamming wealthy people out of their money. She was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, though served less than the minimum sentence for good behavior and was released from prison in February 2021. Anna is currently under house arrest as she fights deportation, and she has to wear an ankle monitor on the show.

After she made her Dancing With the Stars debut, Anna spoke to Page Six about her decision to decorate the ankle monitor for her first performance. “Well, we collaborated with the costume department. Obviously, we could not leave the ankle bracelet naked, so we decided to match it [to my dress],” she shared.

“And it’s like a little sleeve,” she continued, noting that the rhinestones were not “directly” glued onto her ankle monitor. “So, it was a fun little thing to do!”