Dancing with the Stars

The headline above is, admittedly, a bit misleading.

Ricki Lake suffered a cut and a nasty bruise on her shin Thursday while rehearsing for the new season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Derek Hough.

She's not out of the competition by any means, but she did Tweet a photo of the wound, so ... here we are. Check out the season's first battle scar:

Lake, who said upon being cast that she was terrified to participate in the ABC show, is considered one of the favorites going in ... or at least was.

Who knows if this will throw her off her game.

An ambulance was called, but Lake downplayed the situation, Tweeting: "Not sure how my bruise turned into a medic showing up? I'm fine!! :)"

Later, she Tweeted at former DWTS star Kirstie Alley, who was a hit last season: "I've got my work cut out for me. Channeling ya' mama. xo".

Who will win Dancing With the Stars, which begins September 19? Lake? Chaz Bono? Kristin Cavallari? Vote in our survey after the jump ...

Will Cher perform on Dancing With the Stars this season? That's unclear, but she's made it clear she will be there at least once to support son Chaz Bono.

Sources connected with Cher and Chaz say the criticism over a transgender contestant has given the star even more resolve to stand behind her child.

Cher is not saying which day she'll show, or if she will sing on one of the results show, but has made it clear she will be in the audience "at least once."

Insiders say Cher's motive is not to drive votes for her son but simply to show support and make a statement against what she considers to be bigotry.

Last week, the proud mom took to Twitter to hit back at those who say Chaz - her only child with Sonny Bono - coming on the show is somehow wrong.

While there have been some harsh critics, Bono has the vocal support of partner Lacey Schwimmer, as well as co-stars Elisabetta Canalis and Kristin Cavallari.

Nice to see Cher showing support in person - would you expect otherwise?

Chaz on DWTS: What's your take?

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

Kristin Cavallari fully supports Chaz Bono on Dancing With the Stars.

Her only concern? Getting shown up by the guy on the dance floor!

One of the most controversial contestants in DWTS history, Chaz Bono is also one to watch out for in the competition, if you take Kristin's word for it.

“He has that confidence, which I think is a huge deal,” she shared with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush. “You need a lot of confidence to win this thing.”

But Kristin Cavallari has pinpointed another contestant to win it all: “I think Ricki Lake, I really do,” she shared. “And I’ve seen her dance, actually. She’s good.”

One guy who will likely not be hoisting the Mirror Ball: Rob Kardashian.

“I think his mom’s kind of making him do it, to be honest,” Cavallari said.

Who do you think will win Dancing With the Stars? Vote after the jump!

Chaz Bono believes his controversial stint on Dancing with the Stars will be good for America due of its "positive impact on kids with gender dysphoria."

He said, "When I was growing up, if I would have seen someone like me on a show like this, it would have made all the difference in the world."

Bono told Good Morning America that it's "crazy" people are boycotting the show and that despite all he's gone through, he's just "a regular guy."

Meanwhile, attorney Gloria Allred and lesbian rights activists will hold (what else) a news conference today to protest Dr. Keith Ablow and others decrying Bono.

There will be dance and viewing parties across the U.S. for DWTS' September 19 season premiere, and Gloria encouraged everyone to openly support Chaz.

Allred says she'll be personally doing her part in that mission, offering to "dance with every transgender person" who shows up at the L.A. party.

Who could pass up that offer?

[Photo: WENN.com]

Chaz Bono is under immense scrutiny and pressure as he preps for a stint on Dancing With the Stars, but is all smiles in a just-released promotional pic from ABC, his arm wrapped around bona fide cutie partner Lacey Schwimmer.

Hey, as a newly-minted straight man, life could be a lot worse. Watch out, Jennifer Ella. Just kidding. Chaz's fiancee has nothing to worry about ... probably.

Here's Chaz Bono and Lacey, Kristin Cavallari and Mark Ballas, and the rest of the Dancing With the Stars pairing. Click to enlarge and vote in our poll:

Who will win Dancing With the Stars?

Chaz Bono has said that the considerable backlash against him joining Dancing With the Stars this season only motivates him to work harder.

Apparently so. He's lost five pounds just six days of rehearsals.

People reports that Bono is being whipped into shape by his partner, 23-year-old former So You Think You Can Dance finalist Lacey Schwimmer.

Bono’s weight loss is a result of adding dancing into his regular routine, and is not a result of any dietary changes - but he still diets ardently.

Bono has reportedly been adamant that some of the junk food on the show's rehearsal sets - courtesy of producers - could be thwarting his diet.

Chips, candy, granola and protein bars? Not gonna cut it. He has already made some very specific food requests in an effort to get into top shape.

He may not have the dance background (according to mom Cher) but it sounds like Bono is determined to put every ounce of effort into this.

Chaz on Dancing With the Stars: What's your take?

In the face of growing criticism - Dr. Keith Ablow says parents should keep their kids away from Dancing with the Stars, while OneMillionMoms dot com says "Christians should not watch" - Chaz Bono is not phased.

Instead, the controversial cast member sounds inspired.

The backlash has "made me realize I'm really glad I'm doing this, because America really needs to see this," Bono told ABC News. "It just kind of shows why for me it's important to be on the show because so little still is known about what it means to be transgender. And there's so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have."

Lacey Schwimmer is on his side. So is Elisabetta Canalis.

But there's at least one person who would vote Chaz Bono off Dancing with the Stars right now if he could: Dr. Keith Ablow.

Not everyone finds Chaz Bono's appearance on Dancing with the Stars to be funny.

Referring to Bono's presence on the show as "toxic," the psychiatrist has written an editorial for Fox News which reads:

I advise parents to not allow their children to watch the episodes in which Chaz appears.

The last thing vulnerable children and adolescents need, as they wrestle with the normal process of establishing their identities, is to watch a captive crowd in a studio audience applaud on cue for someone whose search for an identity culminated with the removal of her breasts, the injection of steroids and, perhaps one day soon, the fashioning of a make-shift phallus to replace her vagina.

Despite a past laden with naked photos, no one said much when Brooke Burke was cast on Dancing with the Stars.

But complaints have been pouring in from certain circles now that Chaz Bono, the transgender child of Cher and Sonny Bono, has been named a competitor on the new season of this ABC hit.

So far, both Bono's mother and Lacey Schwimmer have come to his defense. And we can now add George Clooney's ex to that list, as fellow cast member Elisabetta Canalis tells E! News of Chaz's inclusion:

"I'm so happy to be on this show with him. He represents a big community, so we need it on TV. We need to talk about it, we need to see people."

Do you agree? Where do you stand on the issue?

Lacey Schwimmer really doesn't get it.

Some people are taking issue with Chaz Bono appearing on Dancing with the Stars because this individual has undergone a gender transformation? This is an example of Hollywood tearing down traditional values? Really?!?

"It's disappointing," Schwimmer, who is partnered with Bono on DWTS, told The Insider. "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."

Earlier today, Cher also stood by her controversial son. It should all make up for an interesting, highly-related season of Dancing with the Stars, that's for certain.

Where do you stand on the casting of Chaz Bono?