Julia Stiles Scores 18 on DWTS Debut as Andy Cohen's 2025 Jab Fuels Her Bid

Q: How did a decades-old insult and a music legend's final blessing fuel one actress's unexpected ballroom redemption?

Julia Stiles’ ballroom redemption was driven by two forces: a lingering public slight from Andy Cohen and the emotional weight of Dolly Parton’s final approval of “9 to 5” for her debut. Stiles said Cohen’s 2025 remark on SiriusXM — “not the greatest dancer on the planet” — stayed with her and became a competitive motivator on *Dancing With the Stars*. In rehearsal with partner Ezra Sosa, she said the quote was “imprinted” in her brain and joked that if they reach the finale and win the Mirrorball, they would go sit on Cohen’s couch and answer him there. The comment cut deeper because Stiles has said *Save the Last Dance* left her self-conscious about dancing, with audiences assuming she should be naturally polished when much of that film relied on choreography and even a body double. At the same time, her opening routine carried unusual personal meaning. Stiles performed a quickstep to Parton’s “9 to 5,” revealing that Parton had specifically approved the song for her only weeks before her death. Stiles called Parton a “powerhouse” and said she wanted to honor her legacy and make her proud. That blessing turned the dance into more than a season premiere number; it became a tribute. The result was a confident debut that reframed Stiles’ public image as a dancer. She scored 18 out of 30, earned strong praise from the judges, and got an on-air defense from Derek Hough, who pointedly told Cohen, “You can eat it.” Even Cohen later apologized and praised her performance.

Q: What really happened during the chaotic DWTS premiere that forced a massive voting change and an unexpected elimination?

A technical failure during the live Season 35 premiere knocked out ABC’s online voting, forcing the show to throw out all web votes and count only text-message votes for night one. Hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro announced the problem during the broadcast after viewers hit website errors, and later confirmed that any online ballots already submitted would not be used. That change reshaped the elimination process because the men’s opening-night results were based only on judges’ scores plus SMS votes. Even with the reduced system, the show said it still received more than double the total votes of the previous season’s premiere. The unexpected casualty was Conner Leavitt and new pro Adele Zaikman, who were eliminated at the end of the first night. Leavitt had scored 12 out of 30 for his salsa to “Whoomp! There It Is,” which placed him near the bottom but not last; Guillermo Rodriguez had the lowest judges’ score with 10. That is why Leavitt’s exit was widely seen as a surprise. Night two brought its own awkward moment when the credits began rolling before the women’s elimination was clearly announced, adding to the sense of a messy two-night launch. But the central disruption was the voting glitch: online voting was restored the next night, after text-only voting had already helped decide the first elimination.

3 articles · Updated · E! NEWS · Sep 17

Julia Stiles opened Dancing With the Stars season 35 with an 18 out of 30 for a quickstep to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” drawing strong praise from the judges.
Andy Cohen’s 2025 remark that she was “not the greatest dancer on the planet” has become a motivator, with Stiles telling partner Ezra Sosa she wants to win the Mirrorball and answer it on Cohen’s couch.
Derek Hough underscored that theme after her performance, joking, “Andy Cohen, you can eat it!” as Stiles pushed back on assumptions tied to her Save the Last Dance image, saying a body double handled that film’s dancing.
The routine also served as a tribute to Parton: Stiles said the singer approved the song for her only weeks before her death, and she wants to honor Parton’s legacy through the competition.