Ezra Sosa‘s sister, Stephani Sosa, was involved in an incident on Dancing With the Stars: Next Pro that resulted in a contestant’s abrupt exit.
During the Monday, July 27, episode of the ABC show, Stephani accidentally hit Natalie Jolley in the face while they were practicing choreography as a group. Stephani didn’t notice that she swung her arm in Natalie’s face until the latter started to cry.
Natalie said she felt dizzy as one of her eyes started to swell shut. Stephani explained in a confessional that she didn’t even realize she had hurt Natalie.
“I don’t know what happened. The dance was moving so quickly, and Natalie got hit in the face,” she explained. “I just hate being the one that caused that. Like, I just feel horrible. I know she’s worked really hard to be here, and I hope she’s OK. … Sorry, I just care.”
Natalie was pulled out of rehearsals by production to get medical attention. An ambulance was eventually called once Natalie mentioned she couldn’t breathe through her nose.
“It hurts really bad,” she said before producers reassured her that the medical team would help, adding, “They’re going to give you some pain relief, OK? Just try to slow your breathing down.”
Natalie never returned to perform her group dance on DWTS: Next Pro. Instead, judge Shirley Ballas told the group that no one was going to be eliminated because Natalie’s health scare prevented her from continuing on the show.
“Tonight was the last dance for … neither of you,” she announced. “Following Natalie’s injury, she was not medically cleared to compete, and so she has been eliminated. This means you will all live to dance another day.”
Despite her abrupt exit, Natalie was given the chance to say goodbye.
“I’m really sad and disappointed that I won’t be able to continue in this competition, but the most important thing is just to take care of my body so that I can dance again,” she said. “I love all of you so, so, so much and I’m going to miss you all. Thank you so much.”
Before DWTS: Next Pro premiered on ABC, Stephani spoke exclusively to Us about the pressure of competing on the show while her brother is already a pro on Dancing With the Stars. (Stephani was previously part of the DWTS troupe during season 33.)
“I honestly felt like I was treated like everyone else,” she shared earlier this month. “I definitely feel like the experience for me wasn’t easy. It was very hard, and I definitely feel like they expected a lot more from me because I was Ezra’s sister.”
Stephani noted she “had a lot more to prove,” adding, “I went in being like, ‘Yeah, I’ve done this. I am Ezra’s sister, but this is a new chapter.’ This is me proving myself fully and there are no excuses.”
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Stream new episodes the next day on Hulu.
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