Chaz Bono went on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show Wednesday to discuss his upcoming appearance on "Dancing With the Stars," claiming the quickstep "gave me nightmares."
Bono addressed detractors who have claimed his appearance on the ABC dance show will influence children negatively about gender identity. “When I was a kid there was nobody like me on TV,” he said. “I didn’t know what was possible. I just thought there was something desperately wrong with me.”
DeGeneres also received a surprise call-in from Bono's mother Cher, who said she couldn't help anyone with the “excess time and… hostility” to boycott “Dancing with the F—ing Stars!”
Bono, 42, born Chastity, officially became a man last year after undergoing sex-reassignment surgery. He is partnered with Lacey Schwimmer on the 13th season of the reality show, and revealed to DeGeneres that his first dance will be the cha-cha.
“I think the controversy about Chaz comes from the fact that sometimes people reject what they don’t understand. And I don’t understand algebra, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” DeGeneres said on the show.
