The influencer, socialite and convicted fraudster Anna Delvey has spoken out after rabbits used in her photoshoot were found abandoned in New York’s Prospect Park.
Anna Delvey (whose real name is Anna Sorkin) says she is “appalled” by these events, and had “no knowledge” of plans to release the rabbits into the park. She also had some savage remarks for “the outraged rabbit mob”.
On 3rd August, Anna Delvey posted images to Instagram of her posing on a pavement near the Franklin Street subway station with rabbits on leads. A vegan activist called Terry Chao claimed someone had contacted her about finding rabbits for the photoshoot. The next day, she found one of the rabbits from Anna’s Instagram pictures under a bush near a cardboard box in Prospect Park. Two other bunnies – who are the children of the first rabbit – were found in a similar area over the next few days.
Anna Delvey initially commented on Instagram that she believed “all bunnies that were borrowed for this shoot are at home with their owners”. But since then, she has changed her stance.
Anna Delvey claimed she did not organise the logistics for the collaboration with the photographer Jasper Soloff. She said a member of the style team called Christian Batty was responsible for finding the rabbits. She wrote on her Instagram story: “I later discovered that, instead of borrowing animals from a legitimate source like he claimed, he had obtained them via Facebook Marketplace an intended to release them into Prospect Park, a plan of which I had no knowledge.
“The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me.
“I am appalled by what transpired. As talent, it’s not my job to source or return animals, but as an animal lover, I can promise I will never work with them again without knowing exactly where they came from and how they’re getting home. I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport, or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions.
“I will gladly do whatever I can to ensure these rabbits are rehomed safely.”
Anna Delvey’s Instagram story
She then uploaded several screenshots of text messages, seemingly to back up her claims. She wrote: “Christian Batty lied for days about returning the rabbits. Turns out his plan all along was to dump them.”
In a social media post that has since been made private, Christian Batty took responsibility for abandoning the rabbits and apologised for his behaviour. He did not say he always planned to release the rabbits. He explained that once he realised the rabbits has become his responsibility, he panicked and released them into the park because he mistakenly believed that other rabbits lived there.
A lawyer for the photographer Jasper Soloff said: “This was not Jasper’s photo shoot, and he did not arrange any of the details surrounding it. Jasper had no knowledge or input as to how the bunnies were obtained or what happened to them after the photoshoot.”
Anna then posted on Instagram a screenshot in which she seemed to have donated $1,000 to a charity called All About Rabbits Rescue.
She also wrote: “For once, I’m actually grateful for my GPS ankle monitor. It handily rules me out of most of the absurd crimes the outraged rabbit mob is frothing over.”
Terry Chao is helping care for the rabbits, and is updating her social media followers on their well-being.
View this post on Instagram
She retroactively celebrated two of the rabbits’ birthdays from last week, and Anna Delvey had more to say about that.
Anna wrote on Instagram: “What a great joy! Pleased to inform everyone that these rabbits are now allowed to stare at this woman’s stained futon for the rest of their natural lives. A true hero!”
Anna Delvey’s Instagram story
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Featured image of Parker the rabbit via Terry Chao’s Instagram. Screenshots of Anna Delvey and the rabbits via her TikTok.
