Separating fact from fiction in Netflix Invent Anna, the limited series inspired by the life and crimes of false German heiress Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, can rise to the challenge. Some of the show’s details about the convicted serial fraudster are so bizarre — like Sorokin dispatching a stuffed peacock — that viewers might think many of them are creative overstatements. Although the Shonda Rhimes-produced show features a disclaimer for each episode (“This entire story is completely true, except for all the parts that are totally made up”), some of the more absurd details actually got out. products.
One of the most curious bits of information is when Sorokin, played by Julia Garner, lives with Billy McFarland, the man behind the infamous Fyre Festival. Apparently, this part is not fiction; both convicted crooks lived in the same space at one point, and the details surrounding this roommate situation are even stranger than what’s seen in the Netflix series.
McFarland (played by Garner’s ozark co-star Ben Rappaport) mostly appears in Episode 4, and he and Sorokin interact in a few scenes. In one, she wanders into their shared SoHo loft where McFarland can be heard talking about her new project partnering with rapper Ja Rule. When Sorokin comments on an “out of control” party the night before, McFarland responds with, “You’re not even supposed to live here.” In another, Sorokin works on his art foundation while McFarland enthusiastically shares his new project titled “Fyre Festival” with a Y. They poke fun at each other’s plans, and in the next episode, Sorokin moves on to a new one. residence. McFarland and his festival are mentioned in subsequent episodes when the infamous project – and its legal action – made headlines. (McFarland was arrested on two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2018. It is expected to be released in 2023.)
Throughout the series, Sorokin scams a number of luxury hotels in New York, stay up to a few months without paying. According to page 6, Sorokin also squatted McFarland’s Wooster Street Square in 2013, which was then the home of McFarland’s other controversial project, Magnises, a “credit card” company.
According to the outlet, Sorokin allegedly got to know someone from McFarland’s team, asked to “stay a few days” and then “won’t leave”. She even attended some of the parties McFarland threw for Magnises. McFarland, who was apparently ‘non-confrontational’, even allegedly ‘insinuated’ that he wanted her to leave, but she wouldn’t – extending his (unwelcome) stay by four month. They only parted ways when McFarland’s team moved their headquarters to a townhouse elsewhere. Sorokin allegedly stiffed fellow scammer for months–the rent value would have been perfect for the series, but that story wasn’t fully fleshed out.
