Alfonso Ribeiro is now in his third season as a co-host of “Dancing with the Stars” co-host after winning the competition in 2014, understands the “shock in the ballroom” following a contestant’s shocking remarks during her exit from the dancing competition.
Anna Delvey, a convicted felon who served prison time, was announced as one of the contestants this season 33. However, public opinion was not swayed in her favor, as some in the audience felt it was not appropriate to reward the 33-year-old for her climb to infamy for scamming wealthy individuals in New York City.
After being eliminated from episode 2 that aired on Sept. 24, Delvey was asked what she would take away from the competition, to which she honestly and swiftly replied with a smile, “Nothing.”
The response didn’t sit well with people who believed Delvey was being ungrateful. On Sept. 25, Ribeiro sat with “The Talk” co-hosts, which included former “DWTS” contestant Amanda Kloots, where they gave their own take on the comment.
He said it wasn’t a response he ever would have expected in the history of the show and even joked, “She was clearly a trendsetter,” which sent audience members into laughter.
The veteran TV host then showed sympathy toward Delvey, saying, “Like, it’s really difficult in that situation because you’re being told, ‘Bye, you stink, you’re not good enough, we don’t want you here.’ And at the end of the day you have to react to that and it’s like, she spent the entire time getting destroyed on social media. And so it was an honest answer, like what am I going to take away from this hurt, pain, suffering.”
“The only person that really was there was Ezra for her, who is a first-time pro, so he’s never dealt with that,” Ribeiro continued, referring to Delvey’s dance partner Ezra Sosa, a trained dancer who has appeared in some 20 “DWTS” episodes. “He doesn’t know how to deal with that, but there was a lot of shock in the ballroom with that answer.”
He then complimented her on her dance skills, acknowledging that Delvey “has what it takes to dance. You just have to show us that you want it.” He believes she was “stuck in her head,” which prevented Delvey from being able to show why she came on the show.
“She had all the tools to actually deliver that but she just couldn’t get past her own insecurities or security or the blockade that we all put up to protect our emotions. She didn’t let anybody through,” Ribeiro added.
Kloots added in her thoughts and had a less sympathetic attitude toward Delvey’s elimination. She first said she would have offered Delvey the advice to ignore social media and “turn off” her comments.
“But that experience as you know is life changing,” she said, facing Ribeiro. “It changed my life it healed me in ways I never expected it to and she could’ve had that and for her to get up there and I know it’s probably been only been like you know maybe three weeks like a week with the partner before maybe even longer. Ezra is an incredible dancer, an incredible friend, an incredible dance partner and I can only imagine what he gave to her in the weeks that they worked together. I think it was a disgrace that she said that she got nothing. I really do.”
Ribiero concurred with Kloots, saying, “I can’t disagree because we do know the experience. The experience is life changing. I mean my life has changed greatly from that experience on that show. I mean my career is back because of that show. I owe everything to that show.”
But the former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star also pointed out the fact that it is difficult to be first to be eliminated, but Kloots was not letting that be an excuse for Delvey.
She said, “You are first, right, but remain grateful.”
A third person suggested that Delvey was making a joke about her past with her response. They said, “Maybe she meant she wasn’t going to steal anything lol.”
Delvey was arrested in 2017 and convicted in 2019 on multiple counts of larceny and theft for scamming banks, hotels and wealthy New Yorkers out of $275,000. She was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison but only served four.
The night she left the show there was a double elimination, and Tori Spelling was also eliminated.
