(Image Source: Access Hollywood)

BY AUSTIN FAX
ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON

You're watching multisource entertainment video analysis from Newsy.

A transgender-identified individual on Dancing With the Star’s 13th season -- Conservative critics say they’re not ready to tango with that idea.

On Friday, Bono told Good Morning America that he will stand firm in the face of scrutiny.

“It just kind of shows why, for me, it’s important to be on this show. Because so little still is known about what it means to be transgender and there are just so many completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have.”


But not everyone agrees it’s important to have a transgender contestant. In a Fox News opinion piece, Keith Ablow says ABC should reevaluate the message it sends with Bono on the show -- at least spare the kids.

“The last thing vulnerable children and adolescents need, as they wrestle with the normal process of establishing their identities, is to watch a captive crowd in a studio audience applaud on cue for someone whose search for an identity culminated with the removal of her breasts, the injection of steroids and, perhaps one day soon, the fashioning of a make-shift phallus to replace her vagina.”

Bono has some high-powered backers in his corner-- most notably, his iconic mom, Cher. Entertainment Weekly’s Annie Barrett writes Cher hasn’t been bashful coming to the aid of her son.

“She got you babe. After becoming aware that Chaz was taking a lot of heat from transphobic Internet commenters, she encouraged her fans to voice support for him on blogs and message boards and reminded everyone, “Mothers don’t stop Getting angry with stupid bigots who fk with their children !”

Fellow Dancing With the Stars competitor and HLN correspondent Nancy Grace says she has more important things to worry about than Bono’s gender identity-- shouldn’t we all?

“You know what, I’m too busy trying to learn how to dance, take care of my twins, trying to put bad guys behind bars and find missing kids. I don’t have time to hate Chaz Bono. I would advise everyone who does have time to find something else to do.”

This year, former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy host Carson Kressley will represent the GLBT community along with Bono. Kressley took to Twitter to express his confusion from the backlash critics leashed on Bono.

“2 all freaking out about having the GLBT community represented on DWTS -- it's a ballroom dancing show. It's pretty gay already."

 

Transcript by Newsy.