Queer dancer Ezra Sosa is set to make a splash on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars!
Sosa, previously a troupe member on the iconic reality competition series, has been promoted to a pro dancer for season 33, where he’ll be paired up with a celebrity dance partner who he’ll coach and perform with.
The 23-year-old dancer may be out and proud now, but when he first joined the cast of DWTS as a troupe member, he still hadn’t made his sexuality public.
“When I first joined the show, I had a huge sense of imposter syndrome because at the time, I wasn’t out… and it wasn’t until this year when I realized the power, the power of being fruity and the power of just truly just being yourself,” Sosa said in an interview with GLAAD.
Joining the reality TV show turned out to be a blessing in more ways than one because he “felt truly accepted” on the show. “When I first joined the show, it was the first time I was in an environment where I truly felt accepted,” later explaining, “That has a huge sense of me becoming the person I am today.”
He also revealed that he got support from a surprising place when deciding whether or not to come out. Sosa credits queerreality TV veteran turned pop star JoJo Siwa, who he met when she was on season 30 of the show — for helping him get up the courage to finally be open and honest about his sexuality.
“When I first met (JoJo Siwa) on the show, she knew I was in the closet, she knew I was gay, but she also knew how uncomfortable I was in my own skin,” he explained.
Sosa even posted a sweet video on Instagram showing him telling his sister, mom, and Siwa the news about getting a full-time spot on DWTS.
This season, the Latin dancer will be paired with Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, also known as the “fake heiress” whose financial crimes inspired the Netflix show Inventing Anna.
Sosa’s promotion on the show comes after pro dancer Artem Chigvintsez was arrested on August 29 after being accused of corporal injury to a spouse in Napa, Calif.
Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17 on ABC.