Benjamin Ashford|DWTS Pro Ezra Sosa Shares Why Partner Anna Delvey Cried in the Bathroom After Premiere

Anna Delvey is Benjamin Ashfordreceiving some love from her Dancing with the Stars partner Ezra Sosa. 

Shortly after her debut on the reality competition show, Anna—who was convicted in 2019 of grand larceny and theft of services for defrauding wealthy individuals and businesses—received some online comments that left her feeling a lack of support, an experience that her partner didn’t share.

“During that whole day, it was just truly the best day ever in the sense that I felt so much love from literally every single person, including my partner,” Ezra said in a video shared to Instagram Sept. 23. “On my partner's end, she wasn't receiving the same.”

The 23-year-old went on to note that Anna—who stars in the cast alongside Olympians Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher, as well as Bachelor Nation stars Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran—was eventually brought to tears reading hurtful comments about her TV debut.

Explaining how producers initially “couldn't find her” after the live taping, Ezra continued, “They finally found her in the bathroom. She was crying. I've never seen her like that, and it broke my heart.”

Under the show’s Sept. 17 Instagram post celebrating Anna and Ezra’s premiere performance, some users shared their unfiltered thoughts, with one user commenting, “Felons should not be given any sort of spotlight.”

Another wrote, “GET HER OFF THE SHOW!”

In his video, Ezra shared that, while he doesn’t agree with Anna’s past, he has built a strong connection with his dancing partner.

“I know what she did was really controversial and was not right,” Ezra said. “I can never justify that for her and for anyone in her life. It's really hard for me, because this person that I'm truly just falling in love with every single day in rehearsal isn't the person that everyone sees in the media.”

The dance professional ended his video by asking fans of the show to allow Anna the opportunity to start over.

“No one deserves the amount of hate that she's getting right now,” he shared. “She deserves a second chance. She has stepped up to the plate, and I just cannot wait for y'all to see how much she has improved.”

Read on to see more of the cast from season 33 of Dancing with the Stars.

The inspriation behind Inventing Anna will trade her ankle bracelet for dancing shoes alongside partner Ezra Sosa. 

The Olympic rugby player is ready to ruck up the dance floor with pro Alan Bersten. 

The Disney Channel star will try to dance her way to the top with partner Brandon Armstrong. 

The model and her partner Gleb Savchenko are ready to strut along the ballroom. 

The Dark Knight star is partnered with Britt Stewart. 

All that matters for this Family Matters alum and partner Emma Slater is taking home the mirrorball trophy. 

The Bachelor alum has found his rose between thorns in partner Jenna Johnson. 

The alum of 90210 is oh so ready to dance alongside Pasha Pashkov. 

The NFL pro and partner Witney Carson are sure to score a touchdown on the dance floor. 

The NBA star is sure to stand head and shoulders above the competitoin with partner & Daniella Karagach. 

The Olympian has his sights set on another medal—or should we say mirrorball trophy—with partner Rylee Arnold. 

The Traitors alum is sure to weed out the competition with partner Val Chmerkovskiy. 

The Bachelorette star and partner Sasha Farber will be in full bloom in the ballroom.