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Fan favorites from Bachelor Nation, professional sports and beloved TV shows stepped into the ballroom on Tuesday, Sept. 17, when DWTS returned on ABC
Welcome back to the ballroom!
Dancing with the Stars announced its season 33 participants on Sept. 4, and on Tuesday, Sept. 14, the new batch of celebrities, which includes Beverly Hills, 90210 actress Tori Spelling, Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik and Bachelor Nation’s Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran, will get to show what they’ve been working on in the studio.
Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough will return as judges for season 33, and Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro will be back as hosts.
Convicted con artist Anna Delvey’s casting drew attention, as she’ll have to compete with an ankle bracelet as she remains under house arrest as a dispute about her deportation remains ongoing. However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement granted Delvey, whose real name is real name Anna Sorokin, special permission to compete on DWTS.
Whoopi Goldberg questioned the casting on The View earlier this month, wondering whether “a two-tiered system” exists within ICE. Her co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin stated that Delvey, 33, still owes people money, adding, “Con artists tend to remain con artists.” Griffin, 35, issued an apology on the Sept. 16 episode of The View, for which Delvey’s lawyer Duncan Levin told PEOPLE, “We are thankful.”
While Julianne, 36, acknowledged on the Sept. 16 episode of the Call It What It Is podcast that Delvey’s casting is “controversial for sure,” the pro dancer said she’s “so obsessed” with Delvey competing on the show.
Viewers had to wait until the end of the night to catch Delvey’s debut number, a Cha Cha to Sabrina Carpenter’s hit “Espresso.” “I’ve reinvented myself many times and this time I’m going to be a ballroom dancer,” Delvey said.
Graziadei, 29, started off the premiere with a strong Cha Cha to Tyler Hubbard’s “Dancing in the Country” that put him at the top of the leaderboard. Former NBA player Dwight Howard impressed the judges, too, with his Salsa to “This Is How We Do It,” and actress Chandler Kinney proved herself to be an early frontrunner with her Tango to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!”
Read on to find out how all 13 contestants fared with their opening numbers.
Everyone Lives to See Another Day
Roberts, Spelling and VelJohnson ended the Sept. 17 premiere at the bottom of the leaderboard, but Ribeiro revealed that no one would be going home in order for all 13 pairs to “get their footing” in the competition. However, Julianne announced that next week’s Hollywood Night, which will pay homage to the movies, will be a double elimination.
The premiere ended with Delvey’s highly anticipated performance. “I did serve my time and Dancing with the Stars is a way for me to show people a different side of me,” she told the cameras.
Her partner Ezra Sosa knew Delvey had a tough road ahead. “There is a lot of publicity surrounding Anna, so this is a lot of responsibility to guide her and hopefully give her that second chance,” he said.
Delvey hoped that it would be just that. “I hope that everybody who feels negatively and I will be able to turn their opinion around,” the con artist, whose story inspired Netflix’s Inventing Anna, said, adding, “I’ve reinvented myself many times and this time I’m going to be a ballroom dancer.”
Delvey and Sosa got the crowd buzzing with their Cha Cha to Carpenter’s hit “Espresso.”
“I’m kind of like, lost for words a little bit because you actually have the facility to be a really beautiful dancer,” Derek said.
Inaba asked the audience to give Delvey a fair chance. “This is about your dancing here,” the judge pointed out. “Let’s all give her that space, please.”
