LOS ANGELES — Cher has rushed to the defense of her transgender son Chaz Bono, fighting back against scathing insults hurled at him after he was cast on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Cher blasted naysayers in a series of posts on her Twitter page late Wednesday, expressing disbelief at the animosity toward her 42-year-old child who began a female-to-male gender transition in 2008.
“I think we can agree that Chaz has the biggest balls of anyone on ‘DWTS,'” the superstar tweeted about her child with the late Sonny Bono.
“Chaz is Being Viciously Attacked on Blogs & Message boards about being on DWTS! This is Still America right? It took guts 2 do it,” she wrote.
In another posting she declared, “I support him no matter what he chooses 2do! God! will there always be haters! It took COURAGE 2 do dwts!”
Pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer, who was paired with Bono for the upcoming season of the hit show, said those who are criticizing her dance partner need to “get over it.”
“We need to evolve. It’s 2011,” she told E! News.
“Chaz and I are not going to be focusing on the haters because we know that they’re going to be there. We’re focusing on the positive and we’ve definitely had so much more positive support rather than the negative,” she added.
Bono responded he was “overwhelmed by the outpouring of support” he had received. “Thanks so much. I don’t listen to the haters, but embrace the love,” he tweeted.
The show’s decision to cast Bono drummed up controversy with some viewers taking to the show’s website and threatening to boycott the ABC competition, calling Bono’s inclusion as “twisted and perverse.”
But “Dancing with the Stars” executive producer Conrad Green told NewsCore he wants audiences to give Bono a chance.
“Every season we look for new stories,” Green said, adding the ABC show wants to “get as much range as possible and an interesting balance of people.”
Green said there have been contestants in past seasons that audiences did not immediately embrace, but the beauty of the show’s format is that it allows viewers to see the character behind the celebrity.
“I hope the audience would at least give him [Bono] a chance” as he works with Schwimmer, Green added.
Looking ahead to the start of the show’s 13th season, Green predicted a more even competition because there is no clear frontrunner or star contestant with a competitive advantage.
“Even the producers don’t know where the show is going to go,” he said.
Season 13, also featuring TV host and legal commentator Nancy Grace, actor David Arquette and George Clooney’s ex-girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis, will premiere September 19.