Anna Delvey Is Innocent…of Dumping Bunnies in Prospect Park
“I felt ashamed and embarrassed to be associated with it," Delvey told the New York Times after the rabbits she used in a photoshoot were found abandoned in the park.
On August 3, Anna Delvey (née Sorokin) Instagrammed a series of photographs posing with two very cute leashed bunnies on a New York City sidewalk. Sounds innocent enough, no? Well, because everything Delvey does is at least one shade of controversial, the pair of rabbits were abandoned and discovered in Prospect Park just one day after the shoot.
According to a report from the New York Times, the first rabbit—a one-and-a-half-year-old Harlequin lop named Parker—was discovered by Terry Chao, a web specialist, last week. Chao recognized him from a Facebook group listing bunnies available for adoption. The second rabbit, Moon, was found nearby three days later. How did the rabbits wind up in Prospect Park? Well, it’s quite the story, but the career criminal and socialite claims to have had nothing to do with it. In fact, by her account, she was duped.
“I felt ashamed and embarrassed to be associated with it,” Delvey told the NYT. On Instagram, Delvey added: “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.”
Fortunately, Christian Batty, a member of the team involved in the photoshoot, admitted in a since-deleted post that he had released the rabbits. In the post, shared by Delvey on her Instagram Stories, Batty wrote: “I lied to Anna, and the rest of Anna’s team about the rabbits. When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me I panicked. 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: “Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option.” In a time when you can post a simple call for help on any social media platform? OK!
According to Delvey, who posted another Instagram story explaining the abandonment, Batty was on the shoot’s “hair team,” and she had only briefly met him during a fashion week event in 2024. Batty, she said, lied and told her that “he knew someone who could lend us bunnies for a few hours” for the shoot. After the shoot, Batty told her that the owner had blocked him and wasn’t responding to his messages, so he “panicked” and left them. Delvey further insinuated that leaving the rabbits was a part of Batty’s plan to be a part of the shoot.
“The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me,” Delvey wrote. She added that she offered to help re-home the rabbits, which are now being fostered. And per a screenshot posted to her Instagram story on Monday, Delvey has donated $1,000 to All About Rabbits Rescue, a New York-based nonprofit focused on the animals’ welfare. Meanwhile, Batty—who is still credited on Delvey’s original post with the bunnies—appears to have deleted his Instagram account.
There are plenty of bottom lines here. But if you asked me, the most important one is that animals you don’t own probably shouldn’t be used as props in an unofficial photoshoot that’s only getting posted on Instagram…
