'I'm still crying': Fans are still emotional and thrilled after Julia Stiles' tribute performance at Dancing With the Stars

Giuliana Tiscioni • Writer

Oct 22, 2026 4:30 PM EDT

I'm not crying; you are… Alright, we're all crying. It's not every day that we get to see people using dance to honor their loved ones.

I got to see Julia Stiles' performance on Dancing With the Stars, and yes, I was one of those crying my eyes out. I confess it made me really emotional to see that she and her partner were referencing one of the most iconic romcoms ever, and Julia's costar in that movie. Her hairstyle, her dress, even some of the dance moves were a direct reference to Heath Ledger and one of the most iconic dance scenes ever choreographed.

I recently rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You, and let me tell you, I loved it as much as I did when I watched it for the first time. I always related to Kat's attitude towards people's expectations and the unapologetic way in which she expressed her opinions. For a 90s movie, it was surprisingly advanced, and it had a good deal of well-written female characters, which is not little to say about most movies, even today. Kat had a defined personality, wishes and aspirations of her own, and never let other people dictate the way she thought and behaved. In comparison to other main characters, she was a great role model for young women, even with her slightly aggressive nature.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who is still a fan of the movie and absolutely loved the performance. All these people on Twitter were thrilled to see Julia and the rest of the cast return for this tribute!

via officialdwts
via nativeredfox
via adriasmonica
I mentioned that I rewatched the movie recently, and I watched it with my boyfriend. We had never seen it together, and it was a lovely experience. He's absolutely convinced that I stole my personality from Kat, and he kept looking at me over and over again every time she made a snarky comment and said, “That's something you would say”. And yes, he was right. But my favourite thing about watching the movie together was what happened a few days later. Let me tell you that this guy, who's the complete opposite of what we would call a theater kid, looked me in the eyes one afternoon and asked me, “Would you like it if I recreated the scene in which Patrick sings to Kat for our wedding day?” I screamed a little bit internally.
via shuizhuyu
via pocketsluut
via zLoG1C
via laurjelly
via Cisviapwgk
via chloelovebuug
via LalaVonRae
via MjBurgess
via annetnpaul
In case you didn't know, I have an interesting piece of information to share with you about the movie. 10 Things I Hate About You is loosely based on a Shakespeare play, specifically, The Taming of the Shrew, and there are several references to it and other Shakespeare's works throughout the movie.
For starters, the sisters are named just like in the play, Katarina and Bianca, and since they couldn't name Kat's love interest Petruchio (for obvious reasons), like in the original, they adapted it to Patrick. The fact that they made his last name Verona in honor of Romeo and Juliet is one of my personal favourite references. Their teacher also makes them write a Shakespeare-style sonnet, and we have two characters who are obsessed with all things Shakespearean theater. Another one to add to the list of modern interpretations of classical plays and novels. Next time, we could delve into Clueless, another great 90s movie, by the way, as an adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. I wish Hollywood still had the talent ot make something as good as those while still respecting the original material. Maybe someday they will regain that ability.
via ay_taybay
via 3asically_3asic
via BianxaywsBianxa
via Belmontobsn90
via twittyandsmart
via edwardistheman
via Britalic
via D0PEITSERIKA