Description: The October 27, 2026 Dancing with the Stars score that stunned the ballroom, explained: Julia Stiles' The Omen tango, Shirley Ballas' technical criticisms, the other judges' marks, and why the couple survived.
Julia Stiles received a 4 out of 10 from guest judge Shirley Ballas on the October 27 episode of Dancing with the Stars. The other judges awarded 7, 7 and 8, making the contrast impossible to miss. Ballas was evaluating the Argentine tango's leg action, movement across the floor and posture—not merely whether the routine looked convincingly spooky.
The performance behind the number
ABC billed season 35's October 27 installment as “Horror Movie Night,” airing at 8–10 p.m. Eastern. Celebrities and professional partners performed dances inspired by horror films. Stiles and Ezra Sosa chose an Argentine tango set to “The Dogs Attack,” music associated with The Omen.[1]
A sinister soundtrack and theatrical expressions can sell a horror theme. Argentine tango, however, also asks for precise footwork, controlled leg actions and a recognizable dance frame. The television performance had to succeed on both levels.
What Ballas actually criticized
Ballas, the longtime head judge of Britain's Strictly Come Dancing and a decorated Latin-dance expert, made it clear she would not automatically hand out high marks.[2] According to the reported critique, she found too little travel or tracing along the floor, slow gaucho-style leg movements, insufficient sharpness and control, and posture that did not quite fit Argentine tango. She also described the effort as a promising start.[2][3]
The panel was not divided into one critic and three people who thought the dance was flawless. Carrie Ann Inaba saw tension and stiffness; Derek Hough called it cautious. Bruno Tonioli responded more warmly to Stiles' character work and gave an 8. Inaba and Hough gave 7 each. With Ballas' 4, the total was 26 out of 40.[3] The startling part was the gap between marks, not the existence of any criticism.
Why the room reacted so strongly
The previous week, Stiles and Sosa had earned 36 points for a tribute to Stiles' late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger.[2] The next episode opened with a much harsher evaluation. Entertainment Weekly reported audible gasps when the 4 appeared.[2]
The irony practically wrote itself: a night built around frightening movies produced a jump scare from a scoring paddle. One television critic even argued that the judges' numbers were scarier than the costumes.[5] That is a reviewer's joke, not a measured survey of everyone watching.
Did a 4 send Stiles home?
No. The show had eliminated nobody on October 20, so scores and audience votes from both weeks were combined for a double elimination on October 27.[1] Tyler Cameron and Jackson Olson, with their respective partners, were eliminated; Stiles and Sosa advanced.[3][4] One guest judge's 4 was part of a larger result, not a standalone elimination decision.
The takeaway
Ballas saw a tango whose technical foundations needed work; other judges gave greater credit to the performance as a whole. Horror Movie Night's most memorable surprise was a simple piece of arithmetic: 7 + 7 + 4 + 8. The monsters were fictional. The scoring disagreement was very real.
