DWTS ' Julia Stiles Breaks Down in Tears Over "Popped" Rib Injury

Originally appeared on E! Online

Julia Stiles is waltzing through the pain.

The Save the Last Dance actress admitted that she was feeling the pressure of Dancing With the Stars, especially as she danced through a rib injury while she and partner EzraSosa prepared a salsa to Hall & Oates‘ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” for Yacht Rock Night.

“My rib really hurts and we kind of popped it,” Stiles explained during a pre-taped segment on the Sept. 29 episode. “This is a really tough week to hurt your rib.”

“It’s just not my day,” she added through tears, telling her partner they would likely have to forgo the lifts and tricks. “No lifts for today. I think we take it day by day.”

Still, the 45-year-old wasn’t going to let the injury stop her from giving the dance her all.

“I also know that I’m a tough cookie, and I’m not going to let it stop me,” Stiles said. “I’m trying to keep myself above water.”

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While she was disappointed in how her and Sosa’s tango was received on the Sept. 22 episode—noting it was “not my best dance”—she and the dance pro were planning to keep pushing through the pain and the disappointment to create a great dance.

And the duo certainly did just that with judges Bruno Tonioli, Derek Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba praising her performance, scoring her dance with six points, seven points, and six points, respectively.

Julia Stiles, Dancing With the Stars — ABC/ José Alvarado, Jr.

“The hardest part about Dancing With the Stars is giving yourself permission to let go,” Inaba said of Stiles’ salsa. “I saw you fully gave yourself permission to let go tonight.”

She added, “Now it’s just about continuing to grow the skills.”

Stiles could certainly feel a difference in her performance, admitting to host Julianne Hough that she was “on the struggle bus last week.”

“But I got off it and he pulled me off it,” she raved of Sosa, “and I’m just having fun. I finally found the fun in it again.”

For a look at all the stars competing on this season of Dancing With the Stars, keep reading.