The fake heiress, the Instagram shoot and the abandoned bunnies
But not long after, some bunnies that had been procured for the photo shoot with the would-be socialite were abandoned in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, unleashing a torrent of backlash towards the real Anna Sorokin, who in an interview with The New York Times on Monday said she was not responsible for procuring the rabbits and that she was 'horrified' when she learned that they had been ditched.
'I felt ashamed and embarrassed to be associated with it,' Sorokin, 34, said.
Sorokin, who pretended to be a wealthy German heiress and landed in prison for nearly four years for swindling Manhattan's elite, spent 18 months behind bars in immigration detention for overstaying her visa. She has filled her time lately with photo shoots, publicity stunts and a stint on Dancing With the Stars.
On August 3, Sorokin posted the photo shoot with the bunnies on a New York City footpath. The bunny cradled in Sorokin's arms was an 18-month-old Harlequin lop named Parker.
But the next day, Terry Chao, a web specialist who blogs about vegan causes in her spare time, spotted Parker in Prospect Park, recognising the rabbit from a Facebook group where some bunnies had recently been listed as available for adoption.
Parker had been hiding in bushes near the Endale Arch on August 4, not far from a cardboard box, said Chao, the online sleuth who helped rescue the rabbit and care for two others that had been part of the photo shoot. She and several other people used a pen with wire gates to help corral the bunnies.
Chao said she had also recognised the cardboard box from Sorokin's Instagram feed and that it also had a Yonkers address on it, possibly connecting it to the family who put the bunnies up for adoption. The most obvious giveaway, Chao said, was that someone who had worked on the shoot had earlier reached out to her to scout out available bunnies.
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ABC News
an hour ago
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Rolling to fame In 1977, ABC reporter Terry McMahon interviewed a young woman who was quite popular on the city streets of Melbourne. She travelled around on rollerskates despite an active police crackdown that saw officers confiscating them from those they caught. Skateboards and rollerskates were regarded as a public nuisance at that time. Jean was 21 when she was interviewed about her rollerskating by the ABC in the late 1970s. ( ABC archive ) Jean was a 21-year-old college student whose studies and work revolved around the CBD, and a pair of rollerskates was her chosen mode of transport for 14 years. With worn-out skates strapped onto the feet and her best outfit on, she zoomed past pedestrians, catching attention as she glided. McMahon: What about when you're out on the street? Do people stare? Jean Hopcraft: Yeah, they stare most of the time, but I don't take any notice of them. McMahon: What about police? Jean Hopcraft: No problems. 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