Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
It looks like Anna Delvey has found herself wrapped up in another scandal — but this time, instead of defrauding banks and faking her identity, she’s been accused of dumping an unknown number of bunnies in the middle of Prospect Park.
Last week, Delvey posted an Instagram Story of three rabbits next to a black carrier with the caption “bunny party.” Based on a grid post she put up on Sunday, she appeared to be using them for a random photo shoot on the streets of New York. While only two of the animals appeared in the photos posted to Delvey’s Instagram, it’s unclear how many bunnies her team actually had in their possession.
Just days after the photo shoot took place, Terry Chao, a vegan-food blogger, says she noticed in her local Facebook group for rabbit owners, NYC Bunnies, that a few domestic rabbits were spotted roaming around Prospect Park. Also apparently spotted nearby: the same black carrier featured in Delvey’s story. While Chao worked to rescue the three bunnies last week, Reddit sleuths began to notice that these rabbits looked a lot like the animals featured in Delvey’s Instagram photo shoot. (One of the bunnies apparently left safely with its owner, who’d volunteered to lend it out for the day.) Amid the chatter, Delvey responded to a comment accusing her of dumping the rabbits, writing, “I will find and sue dimwits like yourself who simply refuse to accept that the bunnies that were borrowed for our shoot are safe at home with their owners.”
After a few backs-and-forths in Delvey’s comment section, someone who says he worked as an assistant on the photo shoot posted an apology in NYC Bunnies and on his personal Instagram, where he appeared to publicly take the blame for the bunny dumping. (He has since deactivated his Instagram account.) According to his apology, the 19-year-old panicked when he realized he was left in charge of the rabbits after the shoot and decided to release them in the park. “I need to be completely honest. I lied to you, Anna, and the reset of the team about the rabbits,” he wrote. “The truth is, I did abandon them in the park. It was wrong, cruel, and inexcusable, and I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Delvey reposted his apology to her Instagram story but has since offered a slightly different narrative. When reached for comment, she told the Cut that an assistant on the shoot (presumably, the 19-year-old who came forward) claimed to know someone who could lend them rabbits for a few hours. “I later discovered that, instead of borrowing animals from a legitimate source, he had obtained them via Facebook Marketplace and intended to release them into Prospect Park, a plan of which I had no knowledge,” Delvey wrote via email. “The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me.”
As far as Delvey’s involvement, she seems not to be claiming responsibility. “I am highly disturbed 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,” she wrote. “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.”
As of now, Chao says the bunnies are safe and sound at her home. She’s currently looking to place them in permanent or foster homes and is taking donations for supplies via Venmo.
