Ballroom Besties
Ezra Sosa Addressed Low DWTS Scores In Sweet Message To Julia Stiles
The pro praised his “firecracker” partner for powering through a hard week.
Dancing with the Stars Season 35 has only a few weeks left, and the competition continues to heat up. This naturally brings nerves to the dance floor, but Ezra Sosa is helping Julia Stiles dance through the setbacks.
On Oct. 29, the DWTS pro penned a heartfelt message for his celebrity partner, reminding her “just how incredibly proud you should be of what you accomplished this past week.” After the pair’s moving tribute to the late Heath Ledger on Dedication Night earned high scores a week earlier, they didn’t fare quite as well on Horror Night on Oct. 27. While rehearsing for their Argentine tango themed to The Omen, Stiles told her partner: “I just don’t respond well to frustration.”
“I’m sorry if I’m pushing you too far,” Sosa said, telling the camera he knows her “excellence” and only wanted to help her avoid disappointment on the big night. But alas, their routine earned a combined score of 26 — including a surprising 4 from guest judge Shirley Ballas — tying them with Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess for lowest of the evening.
While Cameron and Burgess ultimately went home, Stiles and Sosa lived to dance another day. But clearly, Sosa wanted to show Stiles some extra love after their rough week. “I don’t think people will ever fully understand what it took just to get you onto that ballroom floor,” he told Stiles, listing obstacles such as her “incredibly painful injury, losing two full days of rehearsal, reworking practically our entire routine, and having to completely change our opening the day before the show, this was easily one of our most challenging weeks yet.”
Despite it all, Stiles showed up like a “firecracker,” Sosa continued, noting that “even through the pain, all she wanted to do was keep going.” The pro teased that the actor has gone “EVEN HARDER” in rehearsals for next week’s dance.
Sosa went on to praise Stiles’ “strength, heart, and determination,” before acknowledging their disappointing results. “I don’t love and respect you because of our scores or how perfectly a routine goes. I love and respect you because of who you are when things DON’T go perfectly,” he said. “Years from now, I won’t remember the scores. I’ll remember how hard you fought to be there and how we got through it together.”
Stiles and Sosa will take the floor next for DWTS’ Disney Night, which takes place on a special night, Monday, due to Election Day on Nov. 3.
