Hit Canadian and TeenNick drama Degrassi: The Next Generation has invited Chaz Bono to guest on an upcoming episode.

Bono, 43, was in Toronto this week to film his appearance as a talent show judge who takes Adam Torres (Jordon Todosey), a transgender teen who has been shunned and bullied, under his wing.

“I work with a transgender teen support group that is part of the organization Transforming Family,” Bono says, “so when the opportunity to be part of a series that features a trans teen came up, I was thrilled.”

Chaz, who was born Chasity Bono, and is the son of Sonny Bono and Cher, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2008 and is eager to be a part of bringing more role models for questioning teens to TV.

“There are a lot of trans kids and teens and to have representation of themselves really means a lot,” he told the NationalPost.

“At that age there wasn’t anything (for me). I didn’t know about transgender people or that there was a possibility to transition or anything. And it made it really difficult to figure out what was going on with me.”

Bono’s episode will appear midway through the 12th season.

[image: WENN.com/FayesVision]

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

Karina Smirnoff stepped out for an evening of celebration at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Gala.    She was on hand to support her friend and Dancing With The Stars alum Chaz Bono, who was honored with the Board of Directors Award at the event.

Karina looked lovely in an amazing, flowing ivory gown with a peacock print.

View more photos after the jump.

(Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(1)

Dancing With The Stars erupted this week when pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy took judge Len Goodman to task for his criticism of his dance partner Hope Solo.

‘Mad Maks’ ripped Goodman for what her termed “disrespectful” as the judge told Solo and Chmerkovskiy their rumba was “the worst” he’s seen the pair do all season.

The drama continued on Tuesday when eliminated contestant Chaz Bono accused judge Bruno Tonioli of being offensive to him for comparing him to ” a basketball, a penguin, and an Ewok” and saying the show treats a man trying to lose weight differently than a woman.

The one judge who remained above the fray was Carrie Ann Inaba, but oddly enough she said she was the reason for the verbal drama.

“Okay, I’m going to tell you guys something funny,” the judge told Access Hollywood. “What happens is whenever I wear red something very strange happens.”

“I’m serious, if you actually go back and look through shows for some reason when I wear red it makes people upset or myself I get upset or…it’s strange.”

Inaba told the hosts she’s ending the drama because she won’t wear red again this season.

Check her funny answer below.

(Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

It’s week 5 on Dancing with The Stars and the 8 celebrity contestants went back to the 80s for inspiration in last night’s show.

How did they do?

The guys took the night ending up in the top three spots with J. R. scoring at the very top for the first time, Ricki dropped a bit and wasn’t her usual self and Carson’s fun personality doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough to keep him around another week.

J. R. Martinez: He and Karina Smirnoff did a sexy samba to Gloria Estefan‘s “Conga” and set the judges hearts’ aflutter. Score: 28

David Arquette: Kym Johnson and David had the tango this week and the Scream actor was quite good. The passion and agression of the dance was too Soft Cell‘s “Tainted Love” and David’s daughter Coco was again the cutest ever, cheering on her dad. Score: 25

Rob Kardashian: Cheryl Burke is making real progress with the reality star and it was duly noted by the judges. The rumba the two danced was quite good and he’s coming out of his shell. Score: 25

Ricki Lake: Ricki and Derek Hough weren’t living up to their own standards this week. The foxtrot wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t as good as they’ve been doing. Score: 24

Hope Solo: Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a Bon Jovi song and the tango should make any gal super sexy and Hope started to let that side of her through. She points out that she isn’t an actress (true enough) and has trouble getting in to “character” but she hasn’t let herself go either. She tackles a dance routine like the athlete that she is. Now she has to incorporate the performance part. She’s getting better. Score: 24

Nancy Grace: She and Tristan McManus danced a rumba to Spandau Ballet‘s “True” and it was one of her best performances. Her technique isn’t improving but her showmanship was much more appropriate this week. Sexy not “floozy” as Len Goodman told her. Score: 22

Chaz Bono: Pro Cheryl Burke brought her dad in to help Chaz with his confidence as a “bigger” guy and it seemed to boost his confidence. The two danced a rumba to Kool & The Gang‘s “Get Down On It” and Carrie Ann Inaba remarked it was the most footwork she’s seen from Chaz. Score: 22

Carson Kressley: Ah, Carson. He and Anna Trebunskaya‘s days are numbered. Fun as always – cheerleader costumes and Wham! “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” fit his personality perfectly but there just isn’t any technique coming along week after week. If he just could get a little better with the actual dancing – his showmanship is excellent. Maybe Hope and Carson could “Freaky Friday” themselves and switch bodies for a week… Score: 19

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

Dancing With The Stars – October 10th dances – here’s the scores and what you missed:

Cher came out to support her son, Chaz Bono, Chynna Phillips had a very night, Carson Kressley entertained as a waltzing pirate and Ricki Lake scores the season’s first 10s.

Ricki Lake: She and Derek Hough wowed everyone with a tango to the theme from Psycho. The pair were just about flawless and received two 10 scores for a total of 29/30.

Chynna Phillips: The Mission Impossible theme and Tony Dovolani dangling from the ceiling started off on a good note, but Chynna lost her way quickly and forgot the steps. Billy Baldwin was in the audience to watch his wife. 21/30

J. R. Martinez: The Pink Panther theme and lots of pink clothing left the dance in the dust, overshadowing the duo’s smooth foxtrot. 26/30

Rob Kardashian: Rob was Clark Kent for a paso doble to the Superman theme. Mom Kris Jenner and stepdad Bruce Jenner watched Rob and partner Cheryl Burke give a fairly solid performance. 24/30

Carson Kressley: Kressley and Anna Trebunsakaya always entertain the audience. They waltzed to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme with swashbuckler costuming but Kressley’s dancing is still lacking. He’s much more fun than most though. 20/30

Hope Solo: Hope and Maks were wonderful as Woody and Jesse from Toy Story, foxtrotting to “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” was a highlight of the night. 24/30

Nancy Grace: Flash Gordon was the theme song, paso doble was the dance. It was forgettable unfortunately. 21/30

Chaz Bono: Chaz came out fighting with the Rocky theme for a rousing paso doble. Although Chaz isn’t the best dancer, he and Lacey Schwimmer are very engaging with the audience. Cher cheered with gusto. 21/30

David Arquette: David and Kym Johnson danced to the Raiders of the Lost Ark music and were an enjoyable duo to watch. David’s daughter Coco, is adorable watching her dad every week. Courteney Cox and Patricia Arquette were there giving David support. 23/30.

Blake Shelton, Julianne Hough and Susan Boyle will be on tonight’s results show.

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

It was a result judge Len Goodman called “madness” but one unexpected celebrity and their professional dancing partner were sent home on last night’s results show for Dancing With The Stars.

The three couples that were in jeopardy last night: Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya, Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and Kristin Cavallari and Mark Ballas.

Check out who went packing by hitting the link. (Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

There’s already one fewer celebrity sashaying across the ballroom floor on Dancing With The Stars.   The first elimination was made from the show on Tuesday night, and Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest, was the unlucky first to go.

His first (and only) dance was the cha-cha, for which he and partner Peta Murgatroyd only earned 14 points.   Backstage, the L.A. Laker told People that he could have done better.

“I really didn’t know how much fun this was going to be.  I didn’t know that I would actually want to make an effort to win.  I was having a great time and I was looking forward to learning a few dances, but I wish I would have put in a little more effort.

Years ago when I saw Dancing with the Stars, I didn’t think I could ever do the show. And now that I’m here, I’m like, ‘I wish I would have tried a little harder.’ “

Peta was disappointed but took the elimination in stride. “It kind of sucks, [but] it was great working together,” she said.

The top scoring pairs were J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff, and Chynna Phillips and Tony Dovolani, who each earned 22 points.

The remaining contestants go on to dance either a jive or a quickstep next week.

Click through for a complete list of contestants and their scores.

(Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

The kick-off night to the most controversial season of Dancing With The Stars came and went Monday night with quite an interesting set of first-time dances from the new cast.

All eyes were on Chaz Bono‘s performance – how would he do? Turns out, pretty solid.

Bono was singled out by the judges for his impressive footwork and although he expressed his initial fears over his age and his weight, Chaz and pro partner Lacey Schwimmer turned in a good first cha cha.

Who didn’t do so well?

Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) Rob Kardashian and Elisabetta Canalis were among the stiffest and least confident of all the contestants with Canalis lying on a bed for the beginning of her routine.

Nancy Grace, Kristin Cavallari and Hope Solo gave middle-of-the-road performances and David Arquette was also in the center although he wins cutest cheering section with daughter Coco Arquette and his estranged wife Courteney Cox supporting his ballroom whirl.

Ricki Lake, J. R. Martinez and Chynna Phillips are going to be strong competitors but if Carson Kressley‘s dancing starts to match his enthusiasm – watch out! He was a pure delight to watch!

Hop over to our sister site Bumpshack.com to check out all the individual performances and videos.

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

Chaz Bono took a night off from Dancing With The Stars rehearsals to attend the 2011 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards with girlfriend Jennifer Elia over the weekend.

Bono donned a black suit with deep blue tie and Elia chose a blush pink gown for the event. Chaz couldn’t look happier!

The 42 year-old DWTS contestant told reporters that he was doing the show this year to address misconceptions about transgender people.

“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,” Bono said. “And there’s so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have.”

Chaz makes his DWTS debut on Monday, September 19th at 8pm.

More photos of Chaz and Jennifer are inside. (Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(0)

ABC has released the first paired promo photos of the season 13 cast of Dancing With The Stars in costume.

Chaz Bono looks relaxed and confident with Lacey Schwimmer. Kristin Cavallari is showing off her gorgeous legs in her photo with dance partner Mark Ballas.

David Arquette is dashing with Kym Johsnon. Nancy Grace seems out of her element with her partner, Tristian McManus and Elisabetta Canalis is simply stunning with Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

Ricki Lake and Derek Hough, Ron Artest and Peta Murgatroyd, Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke, Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya, J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff, Chynna Phillips and Tony Dovolani and Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are all pictured below.

(Read the article)

DONATE YOUR 2 CENTS -->: Comments(4)