Right before 3:00, the camera pans to Chaz and he looks nonplussed. At 3:50 he looks deflated after his mom’s long speech. The woman in this video is congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, the late Sonny Bono’s widow who took his place in Congress after he passed from a skiing accident in 1998. She looks mortified, right?

Small steps with Cher. The last few times we’ve seen the diva doing press, for her movie Burlesque, she was wearing barely-there dresses including a recreation of her “Turn Back Time” video outfit. At Saturday’s GLAAD Media Awards ceremony, where Cher’s son Chaz Bono was honored with an award for his documentary, Becoming Chaz, Cher wore a giant afro wig that she must have purchased from a novelty store. She was covered up though, which was definitely an improvement for her. Cher gave a funny but embarrassing speech introducing Chaz, explaining that she was “completely freaked out” back when Chaz told her he was a lesbian. “Those were the good old days,” she quipped. She also shared some cringe-inducing anecdotes:

“When Chaz was little she only had black friends. So my sister and I were positive that she was going to marry Ricky…

‘We love Ricky and he’s so adorable. That will be cool they’ve have the cutest babies.’ And then, later I decided ‘This isn’t going to happen she and Ricky aren’t going to get together.‘”

Cher then went on to gush about Chaz, saying he “has the most courage of anyone I know.” In his acceptance speech, Chaz admitted he was a little speechless after his mom’s introduction, and then talked about working for GLAAD around the time Ellen Degeneres came out. It was a good reminder of how far the LGBT community has come. Here’s more, thanks to ET:

Cher kept her GLAAD Media Awards appearance so secret even her son Chaz Bono was shocked to see her at the ceremony on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

The Grammy winner presented her son with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for his OWN documentary, Becoming Chaz.

“I don’t have anything prepared because I was so nervous, because my pronouns for my child just jump all over the friggin’ place,” joked Cher, who referred to Chaz as “she” several times throughout her speech. She went on to praise her child, saying, “Chaz has the most courage of anyone I know.”

The music icon later tweeted, “I really surprised Chaz! HE was adorable, said ‘wow mom i was so surprised i forgot what i was going 2say!’”

The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is given to a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender entertainer for promoting equality. Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson were also in attendance for the event. They accepted outstanding comedy series and the Vanguard Award for increasing “visibility and understanding of the LGBT community,” respectively.

[From ET Online]

Good for Cher for coming to the GLAAD Awards for Chaz. She’s admitted having trouble coming to terms with her son as a transgender person, but she’s been there for him that’s for sure.

Other GLAAD Award winners included Josh Hutcherson of The Hunger Games, “Modern Family,” for comedy series, and Beginners, for wide release film.

Here is Benecio Del Toro presenting the Vanguard Award to Josh Hutcherson, 19, for his work with Straight But Not Narrow. Josh explained that he had two great uncles, both of who were gay and passed away from AIDS around the time he was born. He got a little choked up when he said “they were a huge influence to my mom and everything that she is. My mom is a huge influence to me and everything that I am. They are very much a part of me and everything I believe in…. I’m so sick of saying the words gay and lesbian, they’re just people.” What a great kid he is. I have a much higher opinion of him after seeing this speech.

Here are Glee’s Max Adler and Grant Gustin introducing the family of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year-old boy from Williamsville, NY (outside Buffalo) who committed suicide after posting an “It Gets Better” video on YouTube. This made me cry for this family.

Chaz Bono photos credit: FameFlynet, Inc.

We heard from the world’s most famous transgender man Chaz Bono earlier this month that he was hoping to raise the money to complete his transition and surgically get a male part. Chaz went on in a Rolling Stone interview about his options for being more authentic down there, and I’ll spare you the details but whatever route he goes it will be expensive. He estimated that it would cost between $25,000 and $45,000 and said he was saving up the money for it. Well Chaz’s famous mom Cher supposedly offered to pay for it and Chaz said “no.” These two have been at odds since Chaz broke it off with his fiancee, Jennifer Elia, and Chaz doesn’t want to take a handout.

After her nasty blowup with son Chaz Bono over his breakup with fiancee Jennifer Elia, devastated mom Cher’s frantic to make up with her… offspring – so she offered to gift him with the surgically constructed penis he so desperately desires! “Cher hates being at odds with Chaz – she only wants the best for him,” says a sourec. “But almost everything she says makes him angry, which finally triggered the fight to end all fights, when she told him that Jennifer had never loved him. Chaz stormed out, saying he never wants to see his mom again. But Chaz has publicly stated that he wants to make his gender transformation complete by opting for surgery to construct a penis – so in an effort to mend fences, Cher has offered to pay docs the estimated $50,000-plus it will cost to buy the penis…”

“Sadly, Chaz sent word through a close friend that he does not want his mother’s handout, and will earn the money himself. Cher is heartbroken.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, Jaunary 30, 2012]

I like to think that I would be accepting and loving if one of my kids told me they were born the wrong gender, but I don’t know if I’d be accepting enough to actually help them with the transition. It would really depend on the circumstances. Cher has admitted that she struggled with it when Chaz made the transition to male. How hard must it have been for her to offer to pay for her onetime daughter to get a penis? Chaz has shown himself to be a pompous, humorless ass lately. I’m primarily talking about how he responded to his critics on DWTS, and how he is rumored to have handled his breakup. I’m not surprised he denied his mother’s offer. He’s only screwing himself out of a penis by being so stubborn about it. Still, just because I don’t like Chaz doesn’t mean I should judge. If Cher is telling him his girlfriend never loved him I don’t blame him for not wanting to deal with her. Family sh*t can be complicated. Also, this is one of the most momentous changes in his life and there’s surely a lot of pride involved in knowing he paid for it himself.

Cher and Chaz are shown on 11-18-10 at Cher’s hand and footprint ceremony. What the hell is Cher wearing? Chaz is shown out at lunch on 1-19-11. Credit: WENN.com

I wasn’t even going to report on this but everyone is covering it and making a big deal about it so I might as well. Chaz Bono got voted off DWTS finally. He probably held on a few more weeks due to the novelty factor and the fact that he was doing ridiculous theme dances. Two weeks ago it was a Rocky dance complete with ugly matching boxing robes, a set of stairs and fists in the air. This week it was Phantom of The Opera. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, but there was an organ, a mask and some fake laughing involved. That video is below. Dude can’t dance and it has to do with his rhythm and footwork, not his size. When Chaz was voted off this week he said a bunch of stuff on camera about being inspiring for kids going through transgender issues, only he was more vague about it to make it acceptable for ABC’s viewing audience. It was nice and didn’t come across as preachy as some are trying to make it.

Anyway apparently Chaz took issue with some of the negative ways that outspoken judge Bruno Tonioli described him.

Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer, who once again scored the lowest (with only 19 points) for their Phantom of the Opera tango, feel particularly wounded by the judges’ use of animal comparisons in critiquing the couple.

Bruno Tonioli offered this reaction to their routine: “It was like watching a cute little penguin try to be a big, menacing bird of prey. “It has to be menacing, dark, dangerous, hypnotic … like a panther stalking.”

“I always go out there and give my best and I feel like I’ve improved week to week and I don’t feel like this week was any different,” Bono, 42, told PEOPLE after Monday’s show.

“They called you an animal,” Schwimmer said. “They said you have a bad personality … I think it’s fair to say he’s not a favorite.”

Bono elaborated about the “disrespectful” animal comparisons. “I’ve been called an Ewok, a cute and cuddly bear, now tonight a penguin,” he said. “It’s disrespectful to me. ”

“It’s rude and unnecessary, and as his friend I’m embarrassed,” Schwimmer said. “We are both anti-bullying … And having the judges refer to him as animals or dis his personality, it’s unnecessary. It’s rude and it’s going back on everything that people are trying to fix. It’s disappointing that it has to be here and it has to be one of my friends.”

Schwimmer says she was so upset about what the judges said that she couldn’t hold back tears. “I cried today because I was so hurt, and I was so embarrassed that they had said that,” she said. “I’m glad that Maks stood up, because I was about to jump on that table and rip their heads off.”

[From People]

Schwimmer is referring to the fact that professional dancer Maksim mildly went off on the judges, particularly Len, when he said that his partner Hope Solo’s performance was the worst she’s given. They’re working very hard and emotions get heated, that’s understandable. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that Bruno called Chaz a penguin. He uses animal analogies all the time. The Ewok one was kind of rude, but look at Chaz. It fits!

Cher tweeted her disappointment at the judges this week. It’s hard to tell what the hell she’s talking about, but if you put her tweets in order it’s obvious she’s pissed. “Thank u Carrie Ann 4 your Gentility u r beautiful inside & out ! To the Gentleman? I didn’t know who u We’re b4 which I guess is a blessing ! Going Home is Fine but why insult him b4 he Goes! Maybe Rudeness & Flapping Arms take the place of TALENT ! As for the Older Gentleman ….every Show Needs A Grumpy Old Man !”

I’ve seen some cheesy, campy sh*t on “Dancing with The Stars,” but the Rocky theme song dance that Chaz did last night had to be the cheesiest. It was ridiculous. The dance opened with Chaz wearing boxing gloves and a red satin hoodie with his name emblazoned on the back. He threw some punches and joined his partner Lacey, who had on a matching blue hoodie that she stripped off dramatically. She wore an obnoxious denim split skirt with red and white stripes underneath that she kept swirling around. Her shiny red top had white stars running down it, and she was wearing white boots with what looked like white and red striped tube socks. It was like Bobby Trendy’s interpretation of Fourth of July ballroom. Then they did a bunch of strutting around and weird hand movements to the music. At the end Chaz actually ran up some stairs and started punching around in the air. It’s like he channeled all that camp from his childhood and condensed it into one baffling theme dance. Dude learned from the best. If I were his mom my mouth would have been hanging open afterwards, but not Cher. Cher was in the audience and she was clearly thrilled at Chaz’s performance. She even cried at one point.

With Cher in the crowd, Chaz Bono was the man of the hour on Dancing with the Stars Monday night, as he rebounded from consecutive sub-par performances to rack up a respectable 21/30 points for his paso doble set to the Rocky theme, which moved his mother to tears.

Cher wasn’t the only family member in the crowd to support Chaz, as his stepmother Rep. Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs, half-brother Chesare Bono, half-sister Georganne LaPiere Bartylak and girlfriend Jennifer Elia were front-and-center at Hollywood’s CBS Television City to watch him take the floor.

“It was great to have everyone here — it pumped me up,” Chaz said Monday. “I know my mom was really proud of me and that was awesome. I’m glad that whatever we’re doing is touching people.

“It was a great night — last week was a hard week, and everyone knew I was kind of feeling bad about it, so to come back this week and have my whole family there, it was amazing.”

After injuries to his knee, ankle and right leg dragged Chaz into a two-week slump, the 42-year-old author/activist and his pro partner Lacey Schwimmer sought the help of 80s workout guru Richard Simmons to help lift Chaz’s spirits and keep his conditioning — it worked, as Chaz’s dance earned him a standing ovation from the crowd and high praise from the judges.

Carrie Ann Inaba told him she loved the dance and thinks he has “magic,” while Len Goodman told him, “It was your best dance to date.”

Bono, buoyed by Simmons’ encouragement, used the show’s elaborate staircase extensively in his number. He said that the injuries didn’t impact his ability to put his whole body into the demanding dance.

“It felt good: Going up stairs actually feels pretty good,” he explained. “Going down stairs is a little more challenging on my body right now. The adrenaline was pumping and I just did it.

“A couple of weeks ago I was in a lot of pain, and now I’m just in a little bit.”

Following the show, Chaz tweeted: “Amazing, Amazing Night!! … thanks to everyone for the support. I had an awesome time dancing the Rocky theme with @LaceySchwimmer and my whole family in the audience!”

His mother, Cher, was equally elated with the evening, as she tweeted: “OMG! I WAS CRYING ! WASNT EXPECTING 2 B SO NERVOUS ! BROKE MY BRACELET CLAPPING ! IM SO PROUD !! CHAZ WAS GREAT! LOVED DAVID ARQUETTE 2nd.”

[From Radar]

Good for Chaz, and I respect his chutzpah at putting himself out there. I don’t see that he’s a strong dancer at all in comparison to the other contestants, although he’s improved. He’ll probably hang on a little longer on the show, if only because he pulled out the feel good come-from-behind music and reminded us all of a great classic film. Plus we got distracted by everything that was going on. There was enough pomp in Chaz’s dance to rival some of his mom’s performances.

Here’s Chaz’s full performance. You can see Cher’s reaction in the video at the top of the page.

Mike Walker’s column in this week’s National Enquirer claimed that “Dancing With The Stars” execs have been pressuring Chaz Bono to get his famous alien-faced mom, Cher, to appear in the audience on the show pronto. I’m sure they’re rethinking that ratings strategy after seeing Cher’s latest tweets. Cher Tweeted some pretty negative comments about the Kardashians, later clarifying that it had nothing to do with the fact that their brother was competing against Chaz on DWTS. She wrote “I don’t watch reality ! Never saw a Kardashian but these Bitches should b Drop kicked down a freeway !Not kidding! Nos I no r this Fkn nuts.” I’m not sure exactly what she’s responding to (or exactly what she’s saying other than that the Kardashians suck), but it seems to be due to Kim’s over-the-top wedding, and not Khloe Kardashian’s recent remarks in which she called herself and her sisters “trannies.” Later on Cher apologized and tweeted something about putting her foot in her mouth.

feel like I live in a cave !Once watched J&Kate they were sweet! This shit is HARD CORE! Is true Kardashian did Porno ! I’m so Fkn outa it !

Let me be clear ! Am not Hate’n Kardashian Fam.Don’t know them! Bridezilla’s crazy Bitches!Saw Brother onDWTS & my friend told me bout girls

[Rob] Seemed Adorable on Dwts! Am not rag’s girls dont even know about em RT @pjdelcampo2attn:Rob K is a sweet doesn’t deserve bad rap Nice guy.

By lovelies! Seems I put mySize8 1/2′s in my mouth again! Isn’t the 1st time Won’t b the last !Sometimes I should run my words by my BRAIN 

[From Cher's Twitter]

Oh well, all the words and excuses she piles on top of that can never erase the image she put in my head of someone drop kicking the Kardashians one-by-one off an overpass. I’ve never even thought about that before, but now I remember that it was a minor plot point in that terrible, creepy Macaulay Culkin film from 1993, The Good Son. Remember that? I totally forgot that Elijah Wood was in it! There are people jumping off overpasses in plenty of other movies, particularly action films, but that’s what came to mind. (Update: she was probably saying the Bridezilla’s chicks should be drop kicked, as someone commented but they were super snotty about it so I deleted it. How can you tell really with the way she writes?)

Cher might be watching DWTS live and in person next week. She tweeted that she hopes Chaz hangs in there so she can come. It’s hard to say whether Chaz will be on next week given his God-awful performance last night. He scored at the very bottom with this awful rumba, to his late dad Sonny Bono’s “Laugh at Me.” At the beginning he rips off a faux fur vest as some sort of 60s tribute and then awkwardly walks around partner Lacey Schwimmer. Lacey is dressed in a bejeweled outfit with a faux bikini lace overlay that only Cher could pull off. Chaz will be off this week or next. E! Online has a full recap of Monday’s DWTS if you’re interested.

Thanks to DListed for the heads up!

Cher is shown in July at the Zookeeper premiere and in December, 2010 at the Burlesque premiere in Berlin. Credit: Fame

Uncensored version is here

Update: Here’s the video. I’m so sorry I forgot it! The incident is at :30 in.

Nancy Grace showed Nicki Minaj level nip during last night’s appearance on DWTS. Her chest was so precariously stuffed into her dress that after her dip at the end of the dance the right one popped out. For about a second you could see half of her saucer sized areola (at :30 into the clip above). The camera panned to the audience to cover up for it, and then Nancy recovered and adjusted herself. Host Tom Bergeron laughed and said “That’s all right, on the European version that would be perfectly fine.” Only this isn’t the European version and won’t someone please think of the children? They’re already traumatized and confused by a transgender dude dancing who somehow has the agenda of “tearing down traditional families.” It’s not gratuitous violence we should be shielding them from, it’s boobs!

In terms of the other performances last night (spoiler warning if you’re waiting to watch) the high scorer was none other than Ricki Lake! JR Martinez and Kristin Cavallari were next. We shouldn’t count limp noodle Elisabetta Canalis out yet, she could be a contender after tying for fourth with Chynna Phillips. Chaz is hanging in there, but was affected by swollen knee joints and scored the lowest. E! Online has a great recap if you’re interested.

ABC is also putting all the dances online, on their official YouTube Channel, this season. It’s great that they’re doing this, but they do cut them right after the dance and before the judges comment. So on their “official version,” we weren’t treated to Nancy’s minor wardrobe malfunction.

Here are more clips.

Ricky Lake & Derek Hough: 23 points for the jive. This is so much fun, but I think JR Martinez’s dance was better.

J.R. Martinez & Karina Smirnoff: 22 points for the jive. He’s got serious moves

Kristin Cavallari & Mark Ballas: 22 points for the cha cha. Her Marilyn styling and this whole concept is so played out.

Chynna Phillips & Tony Dovolani: 21 points for the jive. She still bugs me.

Elisabetta Canalis & Val Chmerkovskiy: 21 points for the quick step. She improved but she really needs to be led around.

Chaz Bono & Lacey Schwimmer: 17 points for the quick step. Chaz will hang on a couple more weeks, then he’ll be off.

There are more videos on ABC’s YouTube Channel

This photo is from last week

images via ONTD, ABC

Last night was the big premiere of “Dancing with The Stars,” and a lot of the new contestants really brought it. Most notably, Chaz Bono showed that he learned a thing or two growing up with Sonny and Cher. The judges praised him for his footwork and timing, and he and partner Lacey Schwimmer earned a judges’ score of 17 for their cha-cha, placing them the bottom-middle of the pack. Chaz looked a little nervous to me, and he needs to work on not holding his hand over his belly, but you can tell he put an effort in. David Arquette fared a bit better with a score of 18 for his Viennese Waltz with Kym Johnson. I just loved watching him dance. Here’s more, from E!:

Knowing he was the one that audiences were most anxious to see, producers craftily saved Chaz—the show’s first-ever transgender contestant—for last. But he was definitely not least!

The author and Becoming Chaz star made the most preseason headlines, but he showed up ready to rumble, er, rumba! Under the tutelage of Lacey Schwimmer, Chaz wasn’t the best dancer, but he may have been the most pleasantly surprising.

Not to mention “cute and cuddly,” as Bruno Tonioli duly noted.

Clean-shaven and looking like a teenager, David Arquette waltzed two-time champ Kym Johnson around the floor like a guy with something to prove! (Or at least with someone to impress—daughter Coco and his still legally wedded wife Courteney Cox had front-row seats in the audience.)

And his effort was not wasted, with none other than head judge Len Goodman saying he was “very, very impressed” by what Arquette put out there. Of course, he’s got the energy of an unbridled pony, so he has to tone it down a bit, but the eight-months-sober Scream star had great lines and infectious enthusiasm.

[From E! Online]

There’s more of a recap at E! along with the scores if you’re interested, and we have some of the videos below. (Search on first dance then the celebrity’s name in YouTube for the official videos from ABC.) As in past seasons, I’m sure we’ll be surprised by someone out of left field. This week, Iraqi war veteran and soap star J.R. Martinez tied for first place with singer Chynna Phillips for a high score of 22.

I guess George Clooney’s ex, Elisabetta Canalis, really tanked big time. You can watch her below. She looks like a drunk stripper with those moves and will be voted off in no time.

J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff. Check out the spin at :50. This is the guy to beat.

David Arquette and Kym Johnson. I love his faces!

Chynna Phillips and Tony Dovoloni. She can really dance but there’s something off-putting about her.

Update: oh here’s Carson Kressley. I can’t believe I forgot about him. (Thanks Betsy!) He does the chicken dance at one point!

The screencap below is from a video at Radar that also features the judges’ reactions to Chaz.

The lead story on E! News this weekend was Chaz Bono’s involvement on Dancing With the Stars. They showed a clip of him on the red carpet back when he used to be a woman, (similar to this video around 1:15). The difference must seem striking to some people, as he now looks like the brother of the person he used to present as.

Chaz has finally said something, however brief, about the controversy over his participation on DWTS. He made a quick statement outside rehearsals for the show, saying that “[The controversy] made me realize I’m really glad I’m doing this, because America really needs to see this.” Apparently there’s a group that is announcing a boycott of DWTS, which will probably just bring the show even higher ratings than it normally has. You can read about it on this link, I’m not going to post it all here as it’s just the same crap we’ve already heard.

Meanwhile openly gay reality show designer Carson Kressly is also competing this season and getting much less publicity. He quipped on Twitter, “2 all freaking out about having the GLBT community represented on #DWTS – its a ballroom dancing show. Its pretty gay already.” Kressly is the second out gay person to appear on DWTS after Lance Bass. Producers have announced that they won’t have same-sex dance partner pairings, though. Executive producer Conrad Green said “This is not a social dancing show, it’s a dancing competition. A man should dance with a woman, no matter what your sexual orientation, in ballroom.”

Chaz’s spokesperson Howard Bragman perhaps best summed up this controversy over Chaz on DWTS. “Watching Chaz Bono dance is not going to make your kid transgender. But what it can do is possibly save your kids life because young transgender kids, kids with gender identity issues, have a huge suicide rate and if they see one positive influence, one positive role model, this can save lives and that’s why Chaz is here.”

Here’s the new portrait of Chaz with his dance partner, Lacey Schwimmer. More portraits are here.

And here’s Chaz and Lacey outside DWTS practice on 8/31/11.

Photo credit: Fame

Yesterday we heard that Chaz Bono’s mom, Cher, had defended him against some critics who were going overboard in trashing Dancing with The Stars, and Chaz, for the fact that he is transgendered and has been named as a new competitor. Cher promised us that Chaz would win us over, and I think she’s right. In the interviews I’ve seen with him, he’s come across as very down-to-earth, likable and in fact a little shy about speaking to the press. So it must be very brave of him to not only come out as a transgender person but to compete on this very popular show.

Enter comedian Chelsea Handler and her dumb-ass minions, mocking Chaz and making all sorts of ignorant comments about him. GLAAD has asked for an apology and that Chelsea invite Chaz or another transgender person to appear:

Last night’s episode of Chelsea Lately repeatedly made a mockery of Chaz Bono’s transgender identity when discussing the transgender advocate’s upcoming appearance on Dancing With the Stars. Host Chelsea Handler herself started the discussion off with a joke about Chaz Bono’s identity and anatomy, but was joined a few moments later by two members of her all-comedian panel in using transphobic humor to mock him.

Handler’s introduction:

Chelsea Handler: The Dancing with the Stars cast has been announced and, this is season 13, it includes Chaz Bono, otherwise known as Chastity Bono [laughs] before she got her penis [laughs]….

Out comedian Fortune Feimster soon said that she was personally most looking forward to watching Bono on the program, saying:

Fortune Feimster: I’m, I’m like you, I’m excited about Chaz Bono. Cause I used to watch the show…

CH: I wonder why. [laughs]

FF: It’s like reality gold, he’s like four reality shows in one, like who doesn’t love that?

This was immediately followed by jokes from comedians Bill Bellamy and Jo Koy, who has previously apologized for using anti-gay language:

BB: I mean who do you vote off? Him or her? I don’t know which one you want to do. [laughs]

JK: Does, does he/she have both parts? Like, like he’s like ‘I don’t want to use my penis, let’s use the vagina tonight.’ Like [laughs] I don’t know.

Of the four people onstage, Feimster was the only one to make a joke about Bono that didn’t simply mock his transgender identity. The “humor” utilized by the others hinged solely on using both male and female pronouns to describe Bono and reducing his identity down to anatomy in order to ridicule him. In doing so, they are effectively making a mockery of anyone who identifies as transgender and contributing to the already dangerous and hostile climate many transgender people face.

This is especially disheartening coming from a show whose host has made a point of being publicly supportive of the LGBT community, though the content of her show has skirted with crossing the line on more than one occasion. After learning of the incident earlier today, GLAAD reached out to the show, which has yet to respond.

GLAAD calls on Handler and the show to apologize for the jokes, and asks them to invite Bono, or another transgender celebrity like Top Model’s Isis King, to make an appearance and offer viewers the chance to get to know them beyond a few hurtful punch-lines.

[From GLAAD's blog, via Instinct Magazine, ONTD]

I don’t know much about transgender people apart from reading Middlesex (which was fiction) and seeing a documentary on HBO called Southern Comfort. (I saw part of Chaz’s documentary on OWN but it was kind of slow so I didn’t watch the whole thing.) I also used to work with a transgender person, although I didn’t know him well apart from work. It just seems like we should treat and address people by their preferred gender. The way I make sense of it is to think of it like a medical issue. It’s not someone’s fault they were born in the wrong body and it’s wrong of me to judge them or tell them how to live, just as I would expect the same. It’s hard to look at this issue logically and with compassion, though, when it’s the first time that someone semi-famous has really come out as transgender in America. I think it’s important that we try, though. It’s not like jokes about Chaz should be off limits, but there are ways to make jokes that are actually funny and don’t mock his gender identity. The dude’s mom is Cher for God’s sake and let’s face it, he’s huge.

Here’s Chaz outside DWTS rehearsals on 8/31/11. Chelsea and her Botox forehead vein are shown on 8/26/11. Credit: WENN.com

Yesterday we heard some “family values” group get publicity by knocking Chaz Bono as a competitor in the just-announced cast for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars. It was all about how Chaz, as a transgender person, was part of some Hollywood agenda to “tear down traditional families,” as if that makes any sense. The gay and transgender people who want their own families aren’t a threat to other families at all. They’re not breaking up families.

Anyway Chaz’s mom Cher wrote on Twitter that Chaz is going to win people over on DWTS and that she feels the need to defend her child against “stupid bigots.” She really went after Chaz’s detractors and called for people to support him online. Here are her tweets in reverse order from oldest to newest so that they make more sense:

lovelies! Chaz is Being Viciously Attacked on Blogs & Message boards about being on DWTS!This is Still America right ? It took guts 2 do it

I support him no matter what he chooses 2do! God! will there always be haters! It took COURAGE 2 do dwts ! TG Chaz has an Unlimited supply

Can u guys check out sites & give him your support ? BTW …Mothers don’t stop Getting angry with stupid bigots who fk with their children !

dont know names Could u look 4 me?He is Such a Good Person inside lota heart RT @wildbrat_jlynn: get us the site we will spread the word!

bet VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on DWTS ! & it’s took Fkg Guts 2! Chaz isn’t exactly the “Gotta Dance Gotta Dance”kinda Guy

[From Cher's Twitter]

That’s really great of her to come to his defense. Cher has been supportive of Chaz from the start, but she’s admitted that it was hard for her to come to terms with his change. Cher wrote in a statement two years ago that “I respect the courage it takes to go through this transition in the glare of public scrutiny, and although I may not understand, I will strive to be understanding. The one thing that will never change is my abiding love for my child.” Now Cher is going to bat for Chaz. It will be fun to see her in the audience when he’s competing on Dancing With The Stars. She’s such a character.

Chaz’s dance partner, fashion-challenged Lacey Schwimmer, has also spoken out on his behalf. Schwimmer told The Insider that she chooses not to focus on the negative comments and that she’s in Chaz’s corner.

“It’s disappointing,” Lacey tells TheInsider.com of the negative reactions. “No human is perfect, so why are they pointing out what they perceive to be an imperfection in someone else? It’s not cool. We’re all taught to not bully, or harass, and treat everyone as equals yet all these people are doing exactly the opposite.” Luckily for Lacey and Chaz, the supportive sounds are drowning out the negative noise. “At the end of the day, everyone is going to have a hater. I choose not to listen to it, because it’s ridiculous. To us, it’s more important to focus on the positive people.”

For Lacey, finding out that Chaz would be her season 13 partner was the best kind of news. “I was absolutely thrilled. I’ve always been a huge supporter of the LGBT community and I couldn’t be more excited to have Chaz. Not only is he Sonny & Cher’s child but he’s also a generally cool person.” And while producers didn’t ask Lacey’s permission to pair her with Chaz, she believes they knew it was an unnecessary conversation.

“This is my sixth season — the producers know that I’m very open-minded and really accepting of everyone,” she says. “Ever since Lance [Bass] was on the show, it opened the door for the LGBT community to be accepted in Middle America and it’s about time. It’s 2011, let’s evolve a little bit here.”

[From The Insider]

That’s nice! Lacey also says that Chaz has trouble keeping up due to his size but that “we’ve been putting him through drills that will make him stronger in the competition. It’s all about him being able to breath [sic] and get through a full dance.” He’s lost five pounds in six days.” It looks like we’re about to see another weight loss success story on DWTS.

Here’s a photo of Lacey and Chaz that Chaz posted on Twitter.

Photo of Cher and Chaz is from November, 2010. Credit: WENN.com