- Stephani Sosa, sister of DWTS pro Ezra Sosa, accidentally struck contestant Natalie Jolley during rehearsals for DWTS: The Next Pro, forcing Natalie’s premature exit from the competition.
- Fans criticized Stephani for the incident and demanded her removal. Still, Ezra defended his sister, explaining that accidents are common during dance rehearsals and that she had apologized to Natalie off-camera.
- Ezra initially joked about the incident in a since-deleted TikTok but later reposted a supportive video celebrating Stephani’s successful Rumba performance, showing sibling solidarity amid the controversy.
Dancing With the Stars pro dancer and fan-favorite Ezra Sosa and his sister, Stephani Sosa, have joined the lexicon of reality star siblings now that she’s competing to join the famous franchise on DWTS: The Next Pro.
But of course, with any newfound attention comes criticism, and Ezra has officially stepped in to defend his little sis after she accidentally hit another contestant, Natalie Jolley, during rehearsals.
Natalie was forced to exit the show prematurely after the accident because she wasn’t medically cleared in time for the next phase of the competition. Fans criticized Stephani and claimed she should have been sent home for the blunder, with one writing, “idk why something ab stephanie rubs me the wrong way has since she was on dwts show.”
Others came to her defense, including a fan who said, “People out here saying [Stephani] should leave for hitting her. Accidents happen in the dance world. People get hurt many ways that’s why it’s important to watch formations so accidents can be prevented.”
Ezra also stepped in to clear his younger sister’s name, writing, “This comment section…my sister apologized to Natalie they didn’t air it. Also this happens all the time when you are rehearsing.”
While her apology wasn’t aired, Stephani sent well-wishes to Natalie during a confessional.
“I don’t know what happened. The dance was moving so quickly, and Natalie got hit in the face. I just hate being the one that caused that,” she shared before tearing up. “Like, I just feel horrible. I know she’s worked really hard to be here, and I hope she’s okay.”
His comments come after he shared a since-deleted TikTok of his and Stephani’s initial reaction, which was captioned, “Reacting to my sister bitch slapping another contestant on DWTS: The Next Pro.”
In the clip, he asked, “Steph, why did you do that?… Steph, that’s bad. You didn’t tell me you bitch slapped her. That’s bad. Poor girl.”
Stephani doubled down, admitting, “I feel so bad.”
Ezra seemingly retracted the post after fans of the famous franchise criticized his word choice in the caption. However, he dropped another sweet reaction video instead, where he and Stephani got emotional as they watched her nail her rumba routine.
Okay, after that? @ABC/Disney, we need an Ezra/Stephani spinoff, ASAP.
