Julia Stiles’ Dancing with the Stars Disney Night fate came down to votes
Despite outscoring Maura Higgins by a single mark across two rounds, the actress needed viewer support to survive the accelerated live broadcast.
Julia Stiles and her professional partner Ezra Sosa were eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Season 35 on Monday, November 2, following the Disney Night live broadcast on ABC and Disney+. The pair departed after finishing in the bottom two alongside Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, with viewer votes determining the final outcome.
The broadcast aired one night earlier than the show’s customary Tuesday timeslot to accommodate ABC’s coverage of the US midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3.
How the Disney Night scores landed
Stiles and Sosa performed an individual paso doble set to “Satisfied” from Hamilton, collecting a score of 33 out of 40. Regular judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough each awarded an 8, guest judge Cynthia Erivo awarded an 8, and Bruno Tonioli awarded a 9.
“That is how you tell a story!” Tonioli told the couple on air, adding that he could see every nuance in the performance down to the decisive ending, calling it a proper paso doble. Hough also praised the actress following a challenging previous week, telling her: “Last week was a bit of a setback, but a setback is just a setup for a comeback and tonight you delivered that.”
The night also featured two group routines. Team Slaytopia, which included Stiles, Sosa, Tatyana Ali, Jan Ravnik, Higgins, Ballas, Amber Glenn, Pasha Pashkov, and co-host Alfonso Ribeiro, earned 36 out of 40 points dancing to “Zoo” from Zootopia 2.
Team Wildcats, featuring Connor Wood, Rylee Arnold, Ezra Frech, Daniella Karagach, Jenna Dewan, Val Chmerkovskiy, Harry Shum Jr., Jenna Johnson, and co-host Julianne Hough, earned a perfect 40 out of 40 performing to “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical.
Two individual routines secured perfect scores of 40 as well: Shum Jr. and Johnson for a jazz routine to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins, and Dewan and Chmerkovskiy for a quickstep to “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast.
The bottom two and the final verdict
When the judges’ scores from both rounds were tallied, Stiles and Sosa sat at 69 cumulative points (33 individual and 36 team). That placed them one point ahead of Higgins and Ballas, who carried 68 points (32 individual and 36 team). Once audience votes were added into the calculation, Stiles and Sosa received the lowest combined total and were sent home.
The result came after a demanding stretch in the competition for Stiles, who had been managing a recurring rib injury during rehearsals leading up to Disney Night. During Week 7 on October 27, guest judge Shirley Ballas awarded Stiles and Sosa a 4 for their Argentine tango, leaving them near the bottom of the leaderboard before Monday’s rebound.
What Stiles and Sosa shared backstage
Speaking to ABC’s On the Red Carpet following the broadcast, Stiles reflected on her overall run in the ballroom.
“This has been such an incredible experience, just physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, all of it together. So I will always have that with me. And I’m really, really glad that we were able to go out with a bang,” Stiles said.
Talking to Entertainment Tonight, she added: “I found my confidence, I found my strength, I was able to own that dance… So I’m really glad that we had that moment.”
Following the live show, both Stiles and Sosa cried during backstage press interviews. Speaking to ABC’s On the Red Carpet, Sosa shared that her openness touched him deeply, expressing gratitude for their partnership and stating that she made him a better teacher, choreographer, and person throughout the experience.
What comes next
ABC does not release public vote tallies, leaving the exact margin between the bottom two couples private. The remaining contestants continue on Season 35, heading toward the live finale scheduled for November 24, 2026.
