Chaz Bono’s lengthy and somewhat controversial run on Dancing With The Stars has ended, but there remains a question over whether Bono was subject to a bit of discrimination on his way out of the reality dancing competition.

Initially, the show was welcoming of Bono and even took a stand when some “advocacy” groups expressed outrage at Cher’s son’s inclusion merely due to his status as a post gender reassignment male. Partner and dance star Lacey Schwimmer has vocally supported Bono and defended him against detractors throughout their run, quite touchingly.

Some of the remarks that riled Team Chaz came from judge Bruno Tonioli, who compared Bono to a penguin, saying:

 ”It was like watching a cute little penguin try to be a big, menacing bird of prey… It has to be menacing, dark, dangerous, hypnotic … like a panther stalking.”

Schwimmer later fumed:

“They called [Chaz] an animal…We are both anti-bullying. And having the judges refer to him as animals or diss his personality, it’s unnecessary. It’s rude and it’s going back on everything that people are trying to fix.”

She also became teary after the comments and added:

“Every week he gets referred to as an animal,” she said. “They always comment on his personality, and last I checked, this was a dancing show.”

Chaz, who has seemingly deflected most of the heat that comes his way quietly but firmly, commented:

“I’ve been called an Ewok, a cute and cuddly bear, now tonight a penguin. It’s disrespectful to me.”

Prior to Bono and Schwimmer, Carson Kressley, Chynna Phillips, Kristin Cavallari, Elisabetta Canalis and Ron Artest were eliminated from the show.

Chaz Bono Rudely Dismissed From DWTS is a post from: The Inquisitr

The inclusion of Chaz Bono- the then daughter, now son of Cher and Sonny Bono- on the upcoming season of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars has been controversial for the network due to Bono’s gender change from female-to-male.

The calm, soft-spoken and affable Bono may be one of the first people to publicly chronicle their transition- and while LGBT rights have made tremendous strides in the past decade, the reaction to his inclusion on the popular dance competition shows how limited the scope of gains has been. A recent ABC piece on the controversy- ABC being the network that owns DWTS- included both Bono and his opponents discussing their positions.

Monica Cole, director of the benign-sounding OneMillionMoms.com, spoke to the network about their opposition to Bono’s appearance on the show. So what is OneMillionMoms.com? Is it a moms’ club? A site for women to discuss issues surrounding motherhood? Actually, it’s a “project” of the pro-corporate, anti-gay and anti-women’s rights group, the American Family Association- another benign sounding organization that has actually been declared a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy based in the south.

Predictably, Cole- whose OneMillionMoms.com site has a badge on the bottom promoting “culture defense”- resorts to the “what about the children?” defense when basically saying Bono shouldn’t be in public. She huffs:

“We will not be able to watch the show with Chaz on there… This is going to be very confusing for children, and should not be included in their cast.”

Note Cole pointedly avoided using gender pronouns in her statement. Chaz was calm when asked about the hate lobbed at him for merely appearing on the show:

“It’s made me realize I’m really glad I’m doing this, because America really needs to see this… You know, 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,” he told ABC News. “And there’s so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have.”

Cast and others affiliated with the production have thrown their support behind Bono, and an advisor to the DWTS contestant appearing on a morning show likened the opposition’s vitriol to “writing on a bathroom wall” and hoped Bono would be able to “ignore” his critics. The advisor, Howard Bragman, said that while seeing Bono on television won’t harm anyone, his inclusion on the show can actually serve to save struggling and suicidal transgender kids:

“Watching Chaz Bono dance is not going to make your kid transgender,” Bragman told “GMA.” “But what it can do is possibly save your kids life because young transgender kids, kids with gender identity issues, have a huge suicide rate and if they see one positive influence, one positive role model, this can save lives and that’s why Chaz is here.”

Bono has said that all he is “trying to do” is share his experience, strength and hope. Below, a bit more on the controversy- including mom Cher’s reaction:

Chaz Bono: America ‘Needs to See’ Him on DWTS is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dancing with the Stars resident dance expert Lacey Schwimmer isn’t making it easy on Chaz Bono, working him so hard that he’s managed to lose 5lbs in just six days of dancing.

Speaking to PEOPLE Schwimmer revealed:

“When I first met him, he didn’t want to do anything that made him look silly,” while adding, ”Now he’s all for it. He’s goofing off and he’s pretending to be Maks [Chmerkovskiy] in rehearsals. It’s really funny.”

After acknowledging that they are the underdogs in the competition Schwimmer revealed:

“He’s lost five pounds in six days,” and  ”It’s so great. He says he’s not eating any differently, he’s just dancing.”

She then says that the two have worked well together as a pair and that Bono’s attitude has made it easy to work with him.

The one thing Bono won’t do? Dance to any songs by parents Sonny and Cher, even though the show’s producers would love to see it happen.

In the meantime a rumor has begun to circulate that Cher might actually make a guest appearance on the show, although her reps have not commented on that possibility at this time.

In the meantime Lacey Schwimmer continues to stick up for her transgendered dancing partner, recently taking a stab at haters on her Twitter account where she tweeted:

“Why people feel it’s okay to judge, bully and harrass others for being themselves is beyond me. Shame on you people!”

What do you think about the Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer pairing for Dancing with the Stars Season 13?

Lacey Schwimmer Pushing Chaz Bono Hard, He Loses 5Lbs is a post from: The Inquisitr

The selection of Chaz Bono as a contestant on the upcoming season of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars has not been without controversy, but Cher’s son has one strong defender on the show: his assigned partner, Lacey Schwimmer.

Professional ballroom dancer Schwimmer has commented on the pairing, expressing that she loves working with Bono and smacking back at haters on her Twitter account. Just this afternoon, Schwimmer tweeted about what she “did to Chaz Bono,” and called him a “sweaty mess,” sharing the following TwitPic:

Initially, Schwimmer tweeted:

“I’m so thrilled to let you know that my dance partner on Dancing with the Stars is Chaz Bono. He is such an amazing person! And so sweet! Weeee…… He has been working so hard this past week! Such a beautiful person inside and out! Team LaZZy?”

Unfortunately but perhaps predictably, Twitter users who were upset that ABC had paired Schwimmer with a transgendered man kept coming out on the microblogging service with hateful comments. But the professional dancer was not having any of it, and she stuck up for him vociferously, tweeting:

“Why people feel it’s okay to judge, bully and harrass others for being themselves is beyond me. Shame on you people!”

Over on Twitter, Chaz has also been updating his tweets to talk about DWTS. The activist and author says:

Just finished another great rehearsal with miss @LaceySchwimmer . She’s kicking my but [sic] all around the dance floor, and I think I like it.

Bono has been in transition since 2008, and legally changed his name from “Chastity Bono” to “Chaz Bono” in May of 2010, at the same time he legally changed his gender to male.

Lacey Schwimmer to Chaz Bono Haters: “Not Okay!” is a post from: The Inquisitr

The party, held at the famous Hollywood nightspot The Viper Room, had a guest list that looked like the posts on Hilton’s blog. Entertainment was provided by Christina Aguilera who performed Lady Marmalade, and the rendition of Happy Birthday was led by none other than the Jonas Brothers.

Also in attendance were Amanda Bynes, Steve O., Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Paris Hilton, Doug Reinhardt, Tara Reid, Robin Antin, Lacey Schwimmer, Emmy Rossum, Aubrey O’Day, Meghan McCain (WTF??), Kim Kardashian and Ashley Tisdale.

One thing we’ll say for Perez: girlfriends lost some serious weight, although his sense of fashion is another matter. Here’s Christina Aguilera performing at the party:

Hollywood celebs celebrate Perez Hilton’s 31st birthday is a post from: The Inquisitr