Julia Stiles Asked Michelle Williams for Permission to Do Heath Ledger ‘DWTS’ Tribute; David Krumholtz Explains Why He Missed Reunion

Ahead of her emotional “Dancing With the Stars” tribute, Julia Stiles reached out to Heath Ledger‘s former partner Michelle Williams.

Speaking to Extra after the performance — which saw Stiles dance to Frankie Valli’s “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” in a sweet homage to her and Ledger’s 1999 classic “10 Things I Hate About You” — Stiles said, “I did ask Michelle if this was OK, and she said yes.”

Stiles declined to elaborate further, saying “I don’t really want to speak for them” when asked what Ledger’s family might think of the tribute. Williams and Ledger dated from 2004 to 2007 and share a daughter, Matilda.

Stiles reunited most of the “10 Things I Hate About You” cast on the “DWTS” stage on Tuesday, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, Susan May Pratt and Andrew Keegan. However, fans noticed one key cast member was missing: David Krumholtz, who played Michael, the nerdy friend of Gordon-Levitt’s character Cameron.

Krumholtz addressed why he was not in attendance via a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, saying that he’s in upstate New York shooting a movie. “I could not be in L.A. for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ last night. I would have loved loved loved to have been there,” he said. “Everyone looked so amazing.”

Speaking of Ledger, he added: “Julia’s tribute to my dear friend, who I miss every single day, was amazing and stunning, and I’m so proud of her.”

Stiles commented on his post, “We love you Krumholtz!”

After the performance, Stiles told Variety that it was important to have as much of the cast on stage as possible. “I begged them, each and every one of them, and they all rallied. They really did,” she said, adding: “At 17 years old, I never would have thought that I’d be here at 45, celebrating my body, dancing on the show that I absolutely love and that fans are still interested in this movie and still moved and touched by this movie.”