Anna ‘Delvey’ Sorokin Wants to Reinvent Herself, Starting With NFTs
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Anna Sorokin — better known as Anna Delvey — isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and she’s made that clear with her first line of NFTs.
This week, Sorokin made her first foray into non-fungible tokens with a collection called “Reinventing Anna” as a way to connect with her growing community and attempt to alter her narrative to one beyond a “scammer.”
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“I’m very excited about the whole blockchain technology, and my NFTs are not NFTs in a traditional sense,” Sorokin told WWD, calling in from the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, N.Y. “It’s not a picture that I’m trying to sell. Pretty much all it does is provide personal access to me. It’s a way for me to connect with my fans.”
Though all of Sorokin’s NFT holders will be granted access to her, some members will receive personal items and drawings from Sorokin during her time in prison. Additionally, there will be 10 gold-edition NFTs that will be randomly minted that will grant each holder a one-on-one call with Sorokin while three platinum-edition NFT holders will get the chance to meet her in-person.
The “Reinventing Anna” NFTs are now available on Sorokin’s official website TheAnnaDelvey.World.
Courtesy
The project is also a way for Sorokin to use her voice for a more legal cause, shedding light on the immigration system. The Russian-born former con artist, who is a German citizen, is currently detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying her visa.
“I would love to start my criminal justice reform initiative,” she said. “I’ve just been using my time in detention to research and see what can be done. Obviously, I just had so much interaction with all the systems and I just feel like I just need to use my voice to hopefully change it for the better.”
Though her case seemed well-known at the time of her arrest in 2017, Sorokin’s story intrigued millions worldwide after it was dramatized in the Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” which was produced by Shonda Rhimes and on which Sorokin was a paid consultant. Emmy-winning actress Julia Garner portrayed Sorokin.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series, which was based on the New York Magazine story “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People” by Jessica Pressler, racked up more than 1 billion minutes of viewing time in the first weekend of its premiere on Feb. 11.
Sorokin calling her collection “Reinventing Anna” was a twist on the show, reclaiming her name in her own right.
“I feel like there’s been so many voices and I guess what’s not being said in the media is that I have not really given any interviews until February last year. The story that’s been out there came largely from that one piece in New York Magazine. I feel like I should be given a chance to tell my own story from my own perspective. This NFT project is hopefully the first of many.”
She added, “This is just the beginning. It’s not just something that I’m doing and will abandon in a couple weeks. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan and I’ll be able to build something bigger out of it.”
Sorokin has been more outspoken about her life as of late, appearing on podcasts such as the popular and raunchy “Call Her Daddy,” “This Is Paris” with Paris Hilton and “Forbidden Fruits” with Julia Fox and Niki Takesh. She even appeared on an episode of “Dr. Phil.”
Additionally, scenes from “Inventing Anna” mimicking her actions and words have been turned into popular sounds on TikTok.
However, despite being a major name in pop culture, Sorokin doesn’t seem to perceive herself that way.
“It’s great that people can see something in my story they can relate to, but I do not want to be the face of somebody who encourages crime,” she said. “I don’t want some young girl in her 20s to say, ‘Anna committed all these crimes, and it worked out awesome for her. Let me go do the same.’ I would hate to be perceived that way. I would hate to even have one person decide that it’s an OK thing to do.
“So the story that I’m trying to tell is basically, I’ve made something out of a very bad situation. I’m trying to turn it into something good,” Sorokin continued.
Prison doesn’t seem to have stopped Sorokin from posting on her social media channels, albeit managed by her team, and on GTL platform, the messaging network for inmates.
Fans even go as far as to send her magazine subscriptions for some of her favorite publications, including Vogue, which has become a way for her to stay on top of current style trends. Though she’s constantly in a yellow Bob Barker jumpsuit, it seems Sorokin still has somewhat of a grasp on fashion.
“I love Rick Owens very much. I love what Balenciaga is doing right now,” she said.
Recently, she also hosted an art exhibit in New York City, which she called into virtually, displaying a wide array of art she drew in prison. Looking to the future, Sorokin is working on launching her own podcast and writing a book. She also wants to be more involved in the fashion world, but she said those endeavors would have to wait for now.
“It’s something obviously that’s pretty hard to do from here because it’s very visual,” Sorokin said. “I would want to be outside for that, and I want to be super involved. I’m holding off for now, but it is something I’m interested in.”
AP
Sorokin became notorious after posing as a wealthy German heiress in New York City from 2013 to 2017, swindling the city’s well-connected and affluent people. She was apprehended in 2017. During her trial in April 2019, a jury found her guilty of eight charges, including grand larceny in the second degree, attempted grand larceny and theft of services. That May, Sorokin received a sentence of four to 12 years in state prison, and was fined $24,000 and ordered to pay restitution of about $199,000.
She was released from her prison sentence in February 2021, after serving only two years due to good behavior. However, six weeks later, she was detained by ICE for overstaying her visa. It is unclear what will happen to Sorokin and whether she will be deported back to Germany, where she is a citizen.
READ MORE HERE:
Netflix Reveals First Look at Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in New Drama Series
Who Is Anna Delvey — and Where Is She Now?
How Fashion and Instagram Played a Role in Netflix’s ‘Inventing Anna’
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