Chaz Bono is Not Bothered About 'DWTS' Controversy, Will go on Air Anyway

By Drishya Nair | September 07 2011 8:19 AM

Well everyone is talking about Chaz Bono and the Dancing With the Stars controversy, but guess who is not bothered about the whole deal? It is Chaz Bono himself. He said on ABC News' Good Morning America that he is going up there only to dance and that is it.

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The “Dancing with the Stars” premiere on Sept. 19 was memorable, as a dozen of celebrities hit the dance floor for their debut dance on the show. Pictured are Chaz Bono and partner Lacey Schwimmer.

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Bono is a transgender activist and has done various interviews with media supporting the LGBT cause, but he says that he does not want to use DWTS platform for the same.

I'm going to be dancing. I'm not up there talking about anything other than dancing. People who don't have gender dysphoria aren't going to catch it by watching me dance on television, Bono said.

A lot of conservative media houses and critics do not support Bono's participation and partnering with a female dancer in the ABC reality show Dancing With the Stars upcoming season which is scheduled to be premiered on September 19 on ABC. Bono was selected by the show's producers to be one of the 12 celebrity casts to appear in the show's 13th season.

One of the great things about the show is you can go into it with a preconception about a celebrity, and that often changes once you see the show because you see a completely different side to them, LA Times quoted exec producer Conrad Green as saying.

It's a process of discovery, Green said. And in Bono's case, We booked him because he's a great guy with an amazing story.

Bono is a female-to-male transgender who legally changed his gender last year and is the only son of Cher and Sonny Bono, both American entertainers, though they have children from other relationships too.

Bono wants America to see that I'm just a regular guy. All these ideas of, 'Children shouldn't watch me, I'm going to be confusing,' ... it's crazy. He said, it would have made all the difference in the world in my life had he seen a show like this, featuring someone like him, when he was growing up as Chastity Bono.

Bono's adviser Howard Bragman told GMA that watching Chaz Bonor dance on TV is not going to make anyone's kid transgender. Whereas, kids with gender issues who have a high suicidal tendency could be possibly motivated seeing a role model like Chaz, and this could save lives. He added that Bono is not going to back off.

He is engaged to his longtime love Jennifer Elia.