Julianne Hough on Anna Delvey’s ‘controversial’ Dancing with the Stars casting

Julianne Hough is all in for Anna Delvey’s “controversial” yet “great” Dancing with the Stars casting.

The 36-year-old DWTS co-host chit-chatted Delvey's casting on the Sept. 16 episode of the Call It What It Is podcast, with podcast co-hosts Jessica Capshaw and Camila Luddington.

“Some people are so angry about this. I love it. Some people are not happy, it's controversial,” Luddington shared and Hough seconded, “It's controversial for sure. I'm so obsessed.”

“I'm so obsessed you guys, like I need her to win! I don't even know who the other contestants are. I don't care,” Luddington continued. “I want her to win. I'm serious and by the way she could be deported at any second.”

Hough said that DWTS can prove to be a “great opportunity” for Delvey as it “allows people to show their most true self.”

“I just love it so much because I was obsessed with the show, and Julia Garner just crushed it,” she said, talking about Garner's portrayal of Delvey in Netflix's Inventing Anna. “And there's so much fun to be had with it and she like plays into it.”

Anna Sorokin, Anna Delvey’s real name, made headlines for pretending to be a wealthy German heiress. Through this false identity, she managed to defraud affluent individuals, banks, and luxury hotels.

In 2017, Sorokin was arrested, and by 2019, she was convicted on charges of grand larceny and theft of services. She was sentenced to serve four to twelve years in prison.

In February 2021, Sorokin was granted early release due to good behavior. However, soon after regaining her freedom, she was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying her visa.

Since then, she has been living under house arrest in New York City, while challenging her deportation in court.