Anna Delvey is receiving some love from her Dancing with the Stars partner Ezra Sosa.
Shortly after her debut on the reality competition show, Anna—who was convicted in 2019 of grand larceny and theft of services for defrauding wealthy individuals and businesses—received some online comments that left her feeling a lack of support, an experience that her partner didn’t share.
“During that whole day, it was just truly the best day ever in the sense that I felt so much love from literally every single person, including my partner,” Ezra said in a video shared to Instagram Sept. 23. “On my partner's end, she wasn't receiving the same.”
The 23-year-old went on to note that Anna—who stars in the cast alongside Olympians Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher, as well as Bachelor Nation stars Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran—was eventually brought to tears reading hurtful comments about her TV debut.
Explaining how producers initially “couldn't find her” after the live taping, Ezra continued, “They finally found her in the bathroom. She was crying. I've never seen her like that, and it broke my heart.”
Under the show’s Sept. 17 Instagram post celebrating Anna and Ezra’s premiere performance, some users shared their unfiltered thoughts, with one user commenting, “Felons should not be given any sort of spotlight.”
Another wrote, “GET HER OFF THE SHOW!”
In his video, Ezra shared that, while he doesn’t agree with Anna’s past, he has built a strong connection with his dancing partner.
“I know what she did was really controversial and was not right,” Ezra said. “I can never justify that for her and for anyone in her life. It's really hard for me, because this person that I'm truly just falling in love with every single day in rehearsal isn't the person that everyone sees in the media.”
The dance professional ended his video by asking fans of the show to allow Anna the opportunity to start over.
“No one deserves the amount of hate that she's getting right now,” he shared. “She deserves a second chance. She has stepped up to the plate, and I just cannot wait for y'all to see how much she has improved.”
Read on to see more of the cast from season 33 of Dancing with the Stars.
Anna Delvey
The inspriation behind Inventing Anna traded her ankle bracelet for dancing shoes alongside partner Ezra Sosa. However, the fake heiress was eliminated during the season's Sept. 24 episode, with her saying that she learned "nothing" in her now-infamous, one-word farewell speech.
Ilona Maher
The Olympic rugby player was ready to ruck up the dance floor with pro Alan Bersten, finishing as the runner-up.
Chandler Kinney
The Disney Channel star tried to dance her way to the top with partner Brandon Armstrong and ultimately placed third.
Brooks Nader
The model and her partner Gleb Savchenko were ready to strut along the ballroom, but took their final bow on Oct. 15.
Reginald VelJohnson
All that mattered for the Family Matters alum and partner Emma Slater was taking home the Mirrorball Trophy. However, their journey was cut short during the second week of competition on Oct. 8.
Eric Roberts
The Dark Knight star was partnered with Britt Stewart. They were eliminated in the second week alongside Reginald and Emma.
Joey Graziadei
The Bachelor alum has found his rose between thorns in partner Jenna Johnson, winning season 33.
Tori Spelling
The alum of Beverly Hills, 90210 was oh so ready to dance alongside Pasha Pashkov. Unfortunately, the two last only one week and was cut from competition in a double elimination alongside Anna and Ezra.
Danny Amendola
The NFL pro and partner Witney Carson sure scored a touchdown on the dance floor, placing fifth in the finale.
Dwight Howard
The NBA star hoped to stand head and shoulders above the competition with partner Daniella Karagach, but was eliminated from the competition on Nov. 12.
Stephen Nedoroscik
The Olympian had his sights set on another medal—or should we say, Mirrorball Trophy—with partner Rylee Arnold, placing fourth in the Nov. 26 finale.
Phaedra Parks
The Traitors alum was sure to weed out the competition with partner Val Chmerkovskiy, but ended up getting cut from the lineup Oct. 22.
Jenn Tran
Though Bachelorette star and partner Sasha Farber were full bloom in the ballroom, they were eliminated from the competition on Oct. 29.