Dancing With The Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba was left “blindsided” by Anna Delvey’s “dismissive” exit from the show.
Delvey and her professional partner Ezra Sosa were the first to be eliminated from the competition’s 33rd season on Tuesday night along with actress Tori Spelling and her partner Pasha Pashkov.
When co-host Julianne Hough asked Delvey what she was going to “learn” from the series, she bluntly replied: “Nothing.”
The response left viewers shocked, and fans flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise Delvey’s “horrible” attitude.
“I was surprised by her comment when I asked her what she had learned from participating in the program, and she replied flatly: ‘Nothing,'” said Inaba, 56. Entertainment Weekly On Wednesday.
Dancing With The Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba left ‘baffled’ by Anna Delvey’s ‘inconsiderate’ exit from the show; Inaba to be seen in November 2023
“That was a disregard not only for the opportunity that was given to her, her wonderful and supportive partner Ezra in her debut season, but also for all of us who worked on the show, from the dancers to the creative team to the behind-the-scenes staff.”
Despite Delvey’s checkered past, Inaba insisted the show did everything it could to ensure her experience was “fair.”
“We all tried hard to give her a fair chance, but I don’t think she saw it and it’s a shame,” the professional dancer said.
“A little gratitude might have changed the narrative.”
DWTS co-host Alonso Ribiero had attempted to salvage Hough’s post-elimination chat with Delvey by jokingly telling the socialite: “You had fun. Stop it. Stop it.”
Anna’s blunt response was the complete antithesis of fellow contestant Tori, who said appearing on the show was an “amazing” experience despite her exit early in the second week.
Naturally, viewers went into hysterics at his harsh words and flocked to social media, where they called the moment “the funniest live TV response ever.”
“My husband said it was his favorite DWTS moment,” one Reddit user said. “I feel bad for Ezra and hope he gets a good partner next season.”
“Why is she acting like she was forced to do this show?” wrote another with a laughing emoji.
A third added: “Funniest response I’ve ever seen on live TV. I feel sorry for Ezra, he went all out.”
“I couldn’t help but respect the honesty,” a fourth continued.
Delvey and her professional partner Ezra Sosa were the first to be eliminated from season 33 of the competition on Tuesday night along with actress Tori Spelling and her partner Pasha Pashkov.
When co-host Julianne Hough asked Delvey what she was going to “learn” from the series, she bluntly replied: “Nothing.”
“This was horrible (sic) OMG I gasped audibly and covered my mouth at that response,” said a fifth.
“Ezra is an absolute genius with his reaction time and his ability to laugh at everything. Also, girl, don’t talk about trying to redeem yourself when you… don’t… do anything to redeem yourself based on your behavior on this show.”
Others were equally surprised.
“I almost spit out my drink when he said that,” one admitted.
Defending Anna’s response, another said: ‘I mean honestly, did we expect a different response? My friend was there for like 5 minutes.’
Ezra said the response was “typical” of Anna, later telling Extra TV: “I knew she was going to say something very iconic and something very Anna Delvey with her exit.
“Of course he has to. It’s typical.”
Anna received a score of 17 out of 30 for her quickstep dance to KT Tunstall’s song “Suddenly I See” from The Devil Wears Prada on Tuesday night.
Judge Inaba told him to stop holding back.
“You have the potential to go far if you embrace it more,” he said.
Tori danced the rumba with Pasha Pashkov to the song This is Me from The Greatest Showman and received 19 out of 30.
“That was a disdain not only for the opportunity that was given to her, her wonderful and supportive partner Ezra in her debut season, but also for all of us who worked on the show, from the dancers to those behind the scenes to the creative team,” Inaba told EW on Wednesday.
Despite Delvey’s checkered past, Inaba insisted the show did everything it could to ensure her experience was “fair.”
The judges’ scores combined with audience votes were not enough to save Anna and Tori and they were eliminated.
Prior to her DWTS debut, Anna was convicted of grand larceny after posing as an heiress. Her life was chronicled in the Netflix series Inventing Anna.
On Tuesday night’s episode, Ezra asked Anna, who describes herself as a fashionista and entrepreneur, during practice how she was feeling after her first week’s cha-cha routine to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”
“After dancing I felt very happy, but when I went online and read all the comments, I felt very upset,” she said.
Anna said The Devil Wears Prada was one of her favorite movies and that she worked in fashion for 10 years.
Actress Julia Fox, 34, stopped by her practice session to cheer her on.
“It’s sad to see all the people being so nasty because if it was her sister or her mother, everyone would be in favor of a second chance,” Julia said in a confessional.
“You’re going to win the hearts of America,” Julia told Anna.
“It’s been a tough week,” Anna said. “Hate never stopped Miranda Priestly and it will never stop me.”