Anna Sorokin's real-life friend Neff Davis opens up about the 'racist' comments she's gotten from people who think she 'kissed Anna's ass too much'
- Neff Davis said she's received "racist comments" since "Inventing Anna" premiered.
- Davis remained loyal to convicted con artist Anna Sorokin throughout Sorokin's time in prison.
Anna Sorokin's real-life friend Neffatari "Neff" Davis told Vulture about the "racist comments" she's received since Shonda Rhimes' hit Netflix show "Inventing Anna" premiered on February 11.
Sorokin is a convicted con artist who tricked Manhattan's elite bankers and real estate agents into believing she was a German heiress named Anna Delvey. She convinced very rich people to buy into the dream she had of opening up an elite social club modeled after Soho House, which she wanted to call The Anna Delvey Foundation.
Davis, who befriended Sorokin around 2017 while working at the upscale 11 Howard hotel, still talks to Sorokin today and worked as a consultant on "Inventing Anna" for Rhimes' production company, Shondaland. Davis' character on the show also remains loyal to Sorokin throughout her scam and during her time in jail.
"The unfortunate part is a lot of racist comments and people who don't understand the dynamics between me being a Black woman and Anna being a white woman," Davis said in Vulture. She said that many people write her to say that fictional Neff "was just someone who kissed Anna's ass too much." But Davis says she was just trying to show a friend "loyalty."
"As a Black woman, I know we are pitted against Caucasian women a lot of times," the filmmaker, who was working at Starbucks when she was messaged by journalist Jessica Pressler to participate in Pressler's New York Magazine story investigation into Sorokin, told Vulture. "But at the end of the day, my loyalty with Anna wasn't because of her skin color."
Davis said she did question comments Sorokin made sometimes, but said, "I never saw the bad side of Anna. I never got scammed by her." Their friendship was based on the fact that Sorokin treated Davis well. Davis said Sorokin paid back any money she borrowed from Davis.
The former barista said she finds it "interesting" that people are "disappointed" in her friendship with Sorokin. Davis maintains she's loyal to "all my friends."
But even though the two remain in contact, Davis is not controlled by Sorokin, she clarified. "Sometimes I won't answer the phone because I had to let her know I have my freedom," she said. "I'm not going to be able to answer every single phone call from jail. But if you need some panties or some coconut milk for Thanksgiving, I'll send it."
Sorokin served her time in jail for her fraud-related crimes but was arrested by ICE for overstaying her visa in February 2021 and currently remains in custody.
"Inventing Anna" is available to stream now on Netflix.