Dancing With The Stars pro Ezra Sosa ‘working his magic’ to get same-sex partner
Ezra Sosa (Getty Images)
Dancing with the Stars pro Ezra Sosa has said his “dream” is to be paired with a male partner in a future season, adding that he has already raised it with the show’s casting director.
Speaking to Out, Sosa said: “I’ve put in my word to the casting director. We’ll see what happens overtime.”
He went on: “I’m working my magic! I definitely want that 100% to happen. That’s actually been my dream ever since I joined the show.”
Sosa framed the goal as part of a wider push for LGBTQ+ visibility on mainstream TV. “I’ve been so passionate about same-sex dancing in general, especially being part of the queer community,” he said.
Representation on DWTS
Sosa said representation shows up in the details of his work, from choreography to the cultural references he brings into the ballroom.
“Every single time I choreograph on the show, I’ll always nod to my community or pop culture,” he said. “Representation truly does matter.”
He added: “When I joined the show, I never thought there would be a space for an openly gay pro to be on Dancing With The Stars. I’m very lucky to be here.”
Sosa, 25, is part of a newer generation of DWTS pros who have built profiles through social media clips of routines and behind-the-scenes rehearsal content, and as an out gay male pro he is among a small cohort of LGBTQ+ talent visible in prime-time competition TV in the US.
DWTS and same-sex pairings
The show has increasingly featured same-sex pairings in recent years. JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson were the show’s first same-sex pairing in 2021, with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shangela and Gleb Savchenko following in 2022.
Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills were paired this season, but eliminated in Week 1.
Sosa is currently competing in his third season as a pro, partnered with Julia Stiles, heading into Week 8’s “Disney Night”.
Same-gender pairings on major dance shows have also drawn backlash in the past, including comments from the late Ann Widdecombe when Nicola Adams became Strictly Come Dancing’s first same-gender celebrity contestant in 2020.
The UK version of the show has featured a number of other same-sex pairings, including John Whaite with pro Johannes Radebe (2021), Jayde Adams and pro Karen Hauer (2022), Layton Williams and pro Nikita Kuzmin (2023) and, most recently, Bethany Antonia with pro Nancy Xu this year.
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