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

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

Chaz Bono’s new documentary, Becoming Chaz, airs tonight on the OWN network. Chaz, 42, was of course born Chastity Bono, and was the cute little blonde girl shown on the Sonny and Cher show in the 1960s. He’s since made the transition from female to male and part of his story is told in the hour and twenty minute special. Advance reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and critics say the show brings up thought provoking issues of gender identity and sexuality as Chaz is shown removing his breasts and taking testosterone to transition into the man he feels he was meant to be. (He has not done anything below the belt to affect that area other than taking testosterone.) Chaz also has a memoir out today called Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man.

E! has a new interview with Chaz promoting his show, and he’s just as outspoken and articulate as we’ve heard in the past. He does deign to comment on Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s tomboy style, although E! kind of glosses over the part where he says he doesn’t know the family and wouldn’t make assumptions about a child’s gender identity. I think he means that he’d like to talk to Brad and Angelina about the big hoopla the media has made over Shiloh, but people could make something else out of it.

On Cher accepting his change
“I think that she is moving in the right direction,” he says. “I don’t get the impression that she’s 100 percent completely comfortable, but I think she’s on the road to being that.”

Why he didn’t get the money from Cher to have his breasts removed
It’s that very reason that Bono borrowed the $10,000 he needed to have his breast removal surgery from his AA sponsor rather than from his mom. “I didn’t want to go to my mom with it because it was something she was struggling with,” he explains. “It’s like why rub her nose in it?”

He hasn’t had genital surgery
While Bono is now legally recognized as male that doesn’t mean he’s also undergone the bottom genital reassignment surgery. He’s too weary of today’s options. “At this point, I’m not happy with the technology and I don’t really feel comfortable doing anything about it,” he says.

However, he isn’t ruling it out completely. He’s attending an upcoming transgender medical conference in Atlanta, where he says, “I’ll be really interested to talk to some of the doctors to find out what’s on the horizon.”

On his engagement
By Bono’s side through the entire journey is his fiancée, Jennifer Elia. They plan to marry some day. “We got engaged two years ago and we kind of just tabled it because so much was going on,” he says. “I think that once we get through this we can look at it again. I think in probably typical guy fashion, I think it’s absolutely absurd to spend thousands and thousands of dollars for one day. So I would like to do as little as possible.”

On being a role model
For now, he’s concentrating on lending his voice and face to the transgender movement. He refuses to call himself a role model. “I see myself as just somebody who’s gone through the process,” he says. “For me, part of the way that I got through my fears is by reading books and seeing documentaries of people who transitioned before me. So I look at myself as one of those people who are just out in the community and the difference is that I just have a little bit of a larger reach.”

He volunteers for a support group for children with gender identity issues and their families. “I relate to these kids,” he says. “The difference between them and myself is that I didn’t articulate it and fight for it and say, ‘No, no, no! I’m a boy!’ I have so much respect for these kids that do.”

On Shiloh Jolie-PItt
Bono doesn’t know Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and wouldn’t assume anything about their daughter Shiloh’s choice to dress more boyishly, but the media’s attention to the story did shed some light on gender identity. “I would love to talk to them at some point,” Bono says, “to at least let them know we have this resource for them if they ever need it.”

Even so, Bono says, “People get too freaked out about kids and what to do with kids. If you just let kids do what they need to do they usually have the right idea.”

[From E! Online]

Maybe it would be better to say “no comment” with regards to Shiloh, because you know that the media are going to blow it out of proportion. (Hell, I did.)

I’m really interested to see Becoming Chaz and to learn more about his story. I’ve read that Cher appears in it briefly, that you can tell she’s conflicted about and that it hurts Chaz that his mom is only gradually coming around to the idea that he wants to be a guy. It’s got to be a tough situation to deal with all around, and he’s brave for being so public with his story. He’s the highest profile person so far to come out as transgender and it must have taken a lot of courage for him to go public like this.

Chaz on Oprah:

Chaz telling his fiance how to inject him with testosterone. (He’s shirtless, which maybe isn’t the best decision.)

I’m trying to be nice, I really am. Which is why I’m calling it – Christina Aguilera’s appearance at the Burlesque premiere in Berlin last night was one of her best showings this whole Burlesque promotional tour. Is the face still drag queen? Yep. Is the braided hair a hot mess? Yep. If this hot pink Alberta Ferretti really the best thing ever? Nope. And yet… Christina has set the bar so low for this promotional tour, that I end up thinking that this is a half-decent look for her. The color pops, and it compliments the drag queen makeup well. And Christina looks like she’s having fun. Well, she looks less like a walking tragedy.

I love how Cher didn’t even bother to try to wear something scandalous. She’s just freezing her ass off.

Who is Cam Gigandet? I know he’s in the movie and everything, but I feel like I should know him for something else. He’s cute, whoever he is.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Monday night was the big London premiere of Burlesque, the film that got better reviews than The Tourist (for real). Cher decided that her promotional campaign of crotch and nipple flashing wasn’t getting the job done, so she went old school with a giant neon Ronald McDonald/Raggedy Ann wig. I… uh… it’s Cher. It’s not like you can actually say anything about it without it basically boiling down to “It’s Cher. What are you gonna do?”

But I will say that it’s not the best color for her. I will say that I prefer neon loudness on her head to some kind of “Crouching Grandma Vadge, Hidden Nipple Clamp” vibe she was working before, though. I will always choose looking at Cher’s head to anything below the neck. And before you Cher-lovers bash me, let me say: I actually like her too! I think she’s cool. But I don’t want to see her nips.

Maybe for the next promotional swing she should try a wig in blue or purple…? That might actually compliment her skin tone.

One last thing… while Cher was working her wig, this happened:

Jesus, Christina. This really, really bugs me. This is not a girl in a good place, at all, and yet we’re all supposed to pretend “Oh, it’s Christina being Christina, she’s fine.” Does this chick look like she’s in a good place? Really? Of course, when this is the comparison, maybe she’s not doing so badly.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Am I one of the few people that has never seen Showgirls? I just couldn’t, not even for the sake of “camp”. Which brings me to a side note – I don’t think I have the “camp” gene, honestly. Like, I’ve never seen what the big deal is about Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’ve never thought “You know what would be fun? Showgirls!” I’m not saying this in a snobby “I enjoy real art” kind of way – I like fun, silly stuff that I don’t have to think about. But the “camp” niche is not something that has ever appealed to me. So, with that in mind, I have absolutely no desire to see Burlesque, even though it looks “campy” especially with The High Priestess of Camp, Cher. I’m just… ugh. I think it looks absolutely horrible. Critics think so too – currently, the film has a 33% at Rotten Tomatoes. Bad, bad, bad.

The Daily Beast has a compare-and-contrast between Burlesque and Showgirls, considering their story lines are very similar. But here’s something I didn’t realize until I read Roger Ebert’s review – Burlesque is PG-13, and there is no sex or nudity or anything sexy. Showgirls was supposed to be very filthy, right? Like, lots of nipples and… pool sex, maybe? I seem to remember something about pool sex and a lesbian motif between Gina Gershon and Elizabeth Berkley.

Anyway, if you want to read something more amusing than the actual Burlesque film, you should read Roger Ebert’s take. Turns out, he has very found memories of Chicago burlesque houses, and he knows good burlesque when he sees it.

One last thing – Christina Aguilera has officially gone public with her new boyfriend, whom she met on Burlesque. A photo of the two of them is here. BUT HIS MOM SAID IT WASN’T HAPPENING!!!!

Parade has a new interview with Cher, and she appears on the cover over a red background and wearing peach-colored makeup that in no way flatters her. It could be worse, though. I’m impressed with how candid and open she is, which has pretty much been the case during this entire press tour for Burlesque. On the Late Show last week, Cher admitted to having slept with a bunch of male celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Eric Clapton, and Warren Beatty. In this interview, she explains that she “enjoyed them all… and was always happy when the next man came along.” You go, Cher! She also has a new boyfriend, a 52 year-old screenwriter. She says in what I believe to be all seriousness that she’s never been with a guy over 30 before. She’s 64! Here’s more:

On Chaz’s gender reassignment
“When Chaz first told me about wanting a sex change, I had a really hard time with it,” Cher says. “We talked about the transgendered thing intermittently for years. She was unhappy. Plus, she was doing drugs. [Chaz was addicted to OxyContin]. I believed that once she stopped drugs, she would have a much better life and put the transgender idea on the back burner.” But after getting sober in 2004, Chaz became more determined than ever. “She said to me, ‘If I’m ever going to do it, I’ve got to do it now. I’m 40,’ ” Cher recalls. “I went, ‘If you’ve got to do it, dear, you’ve got to do it.’ ” In May, Chaz’s gender and name were legally changed. “When I realized she was going to do it, it was rocky for me. I thought, What will the press do to her? What will they do to the two of us together? It’s going to be the biggest nightmare that will not stop. But the press was kinder than I thought they would be.”

“It’s hard, ’cause she’s still my girl. But she has an inner strength and she’s a courageous person—she believes what she believes. She and her girlfriend came over for dinner last night. All of us were there, my boyfriend too.”

On Sonny’s control over her
“He didn’t want me to grow up or have any freedom. I wasn’t allowed to do anything except work. We worked more than we lived.”

On Sonny Bono’s cheating
“Stardom made Sonny a huge womanizer,” Cher says. “One woman, or even five, was not enough for him. I found all this out afterward. I asked him, ‘How did you manage the logistics?’ I was trusting and faithful with him. The truth is, I’m not so sure we should’ve ever been husband and wife.” Feeling trapped and depressed, she considered suicide. “I thought about jumping off a hotel balcony,” she admits. “Then I thought, No, I can just leave him. When I told Sonny, he said, ‘If you leave me, America will hate you and you won’t have a job.’ I went, ‘You know what, Sonny? I just don’t care!’ ”

On her second husband, rocker Gregg Allman
“Gregory was a Southern gentleman who also happened to be a heroin addict. I kept going to rehab with him to help him try to kick drugs. It was very hard for him. Then Elijah was born, and a year later I left Gregory for good. As crazy as I was about him, I wasn’t going to let him be around my kids.” Their son Elijah Blue Allman, now 34, struggled with heroin dependency, but he has reportedly been drug-free since an intervention organized by his mother in 2003. “Elijah’s doing really well,” she says. “He’s a good artist, a painter. He’s been asked by Louis Vuitton to design a label for them.”

On dating Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and Richie Sambora
“I enjoyed them all! I never felt I chose badly, and I was always happy when the next man came along. I can usually last about two years with a man, and that’s it. The moment the relationship goes into the phase of more commitment, it changes.”

On her new man, Ron Zimmerman, a 52-year-old TV screenwriter she met online
“Even though I’m older than him, I’d never before been with anybody over 30,” she admits, adding that Zimmerman is not her usual type: “Ron is short, a bit scraggly, like an absentminded professor. He’s the funniest person I have ever met, and the most eccentric—so bizarre and kind and very special.”

[From Parade]

I really appreciate how Cher has shared her struggles with Chaz’s gender change but has remained supportive of his choice. You can tell that she loves Chaz no matter what. She’s such a trip with the way she describes her past and dealing with Sonny cheating and trying to control her. I love how she seems totally over it and like she’ll tell us whatever we want to know. I’m glad she’s doing so well. This movie will probably flop, but that’s not her fault. It looks cheesy as hell and has Christina Aguilera in it.

You can read more of Cher’s interview on Parade.com, and it’s kind of epic the amount of information she shares. Cher put out a memoir in 1998 called The First Time, and I think it’s time she wrote another one.