Julianne Hough Says ‘It’s Hard to Go Out First’ While Reflecting on Anna Delvey’s DWTS Elimination: ‘I’m Very Neutral’ (Exclusive)

Three days after Anna Delvey was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, Julianne Hough tells PEOPLE she’s staying “very neutral” to Delvey’s terse response. 

At the Democracy Heroes event in New York City on Friday, Sept. 27, the DWTS co-host tells PEOPLE what she makes of Delvey’s response to her elimination. The convicted con artist told Hough on this week’s episode that she would be taking “nothing” away from her experience.

“I’m always a big believer in grace and second chances and showing up,” Hough, 36, tells PEOPLE. “Also, it’s hard to go out first in the competition.”

Delvy, 33, and her partner Ezra Sosa were eliminated alongside Tori Spelling and her partner Pasha Pashkov.

“I also heard somewhere that she was actually being silly and being very literal about that, with her history,” continues Hough, seemingly referencing Delvey’s controversial past. “So there was that.”

Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, gained notoriety for posing as a wealthy German heiress and using her social standing to defraud wealthy people, banks, and hotels. 

She was arrested in 2017, and two years later, she was convicted of grand larceny in the first, second and third degree and theft of services. She was sentenced to four to 12 years in state prison, fined $24,000, and ordered to pay restitution of about $199,000. Her sentence was shortened, and she was released in 2021 for good behavior.

After her release, she was taken into custody by ICE for violating the terms of her visa and since has been living under house arrest in New York City.

She told PEOPLE before the start of the DWTS season that she “had to request ICE for permission to travel out of state.”

Hough also shared a clip from the show’s Tuesday telecast on Instagram and captioned the post: “There you have it….. ICONIC 🤣☠️.”

Sosa, who had been promoted to a pro dancer this season, commented in her defense, writing, “I think she was referring to anything you’d be taking away ‘physically.’ ”

Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and can be streamed the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.