Anna Delvey is responding after rabbits used in one of her recent photo shoots were reportedly found abandoned in a New York City park.
Behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot with photographer Jasper Soloff shared to the Inventing Anna subject’s Instagram showed the 33-year-old Dancing with the Stars alum posing with two bunnies on hot pink leashes in the streets of New York City.
However, after Anna posted the images, vegan influencer and blogger Terry Chao said she recognized the rabbits as the same two she had recently rescued from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, after seeing a post in a local Facebook group about a lost rabbit.
Keep reading to find out more…
According to Terry‘s Instagram, she and two other neighbors captured one rabbit and found the second nearly three days later in the same area.
Per The New York Times, hairstylist and assistant Christian Batty had reached out to the influencer beforehand to scout available bunnies, sending her a message asking her to bring her bunny to the Financial District for a shoot. It’s unclear who was in charge of the shoot overall.
Speculation online quickly spread in Reddit communities and in the comments of Anna’s post that the abandoned rabbits were the same ones from the shoot.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, the stylist apologized, writing: “When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked…believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option.”
In the caption of her Instagram post, Anna credited @thechristianbatty, who has since deleted his accounts, with attaining the bunnies.
He also wrote in a deleted Facebook post, per People: “I need to be completely honest. I lied to you, Anna and the rest of the team about the rabbits. The truth is, I did abandon them in the park. It was wrong, cruel, and inexcusable, and I take full responsibility for my actions. At 19, with no experience caring for animals, no pet-friendly housing, and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice.”
He added that he believed releasing the rabbits was his “best option” because he thought there were existing rabbits in the park.
“I am relieved to hear that the rabbits are now safe, but I deeply regret the harm I caused. I also want to be clear that Anna and Jasper had no knowledge of my actions until this afternoon, and I ask that any mention of them be removed from the situation.”
In another deleted post, he thanked Terry and others for rescuing and fostering the animals. Terry also wrote that he helped her catch a third bunny that had been part of the same surrendered group.
Anna later posted her own statement to Instagram Stories:
“As many of you are aware, I recently did a shoot with Jasper Soloff involving live rabbits. Christian Batty, a member of the hair team I briefly met during a fashion week event last year, responded that he knew someone who could lend us bunnies for a few hours.”
She went on to say: “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,” she added. See the full post inside.
Find out why Teresa Giudice called out Anna Delvey.