A firestorm of controversy surrounds the ABC announcement that Chaz Bono is on the cast roster for the thirteenth season of Dancing with the Stars.
He will be paired with pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer, who finished in second place with Kyle Massey in 2010.
Sensitive to the swirling controversy is Cher, who is taking on the haters. She tweeted, “Chaz is being viciously attacked on blogs and message boards about being on DWTS. This is still America, right? It took guts 2 do it. Mothers don’t stop getting angry with stupid bigots who fk with their children.”
Chaz was a little more diplomatic, “Thanks for all your support mom. The haters are just motivating me to work harder and stay on DWTS as long as I possibly can.”
Sonny and Cher’s daughter Chastity believed from the age of 13 that she was gay. It wasn’t until years later that she realized that that wasn’t it at all. Chastity underwent a female-to-male gender transition beginning in 2008.
Long time girlfriend Jennifer Elia acknowledges that their relationship has certainly changed since the gender switch but she remains hopeful that they will eventually get married.
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Photos: WENN