Chaz Bono Hopes To Take Home ‘DWTS’ Mirror Ball Trophy

Chaz Bono

After all the criticism Chaz Bono has received since it was announced he was joining the cast of “Dancing With The Stars,” the shy guy has decided to fight back not with words, but with his feet.

“At first Chaz said yes to doing the show to have some fun but now he’s in it to win it. Not just for himself but for anyone else who has felt like they didn’t fit in,” a friend of Cher’s son tells me. “He isn’t a trash talker. He isn’t the sort of person who fights back with name-calling. He will leave that to his mom! Instead Chaz knows the way to make a difference is to practice harder than anyone else and win.”

Chaz and “Dancing” partner Lacey Schwimmer received their music Friday and are already working on their opening week routine. Bono is also going to the gym to build up strength and is determined to eat better by having Freshology’s food program delivered every single day.

“This kid has more to prove than anyone else in the history of the show,” an ABC insider tells me. “The people that have been warning their kids not to watch have awoken a giant. He is not [only] feeling physically great but mentally he couldn’t be stronger.”

And just in case he does need that little extra bit of support, friends tell me to expect Cher sitting in front row when Bono takes the dance floor — “She couldn’t be prouder of her son.”

Don’t Expect To See Chaz Bono In Outrageous ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Costumes

Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono is confirmed to take part in “Dancing With The Stars” this season but if you are hoping to see Cher’s son wiggle his hips in the outrageous costumes that have become associated with the show, think again.

“I will wear a tasteful tux,” Bono told me just before the big announcement when I asked him what he would wear on the Emmy’s red carpet — making it clear that the outrageous fashion his mom loves to wear isn’t his style or his fiancée Jenny’s.

“I doubt Jenny will be in Bob Mackie [one of his mother favorite designers]. Jenny is too classy, not that Bob isn’t,” Bono quickly added realizing exactly what he had just said about his mother. “I’m on bad feet here. I don’t see her doing Bob Mackie. I know she likes DVF. She wore her on Oprah.”

Currently getting into shape for the competition by hitting the gym, Bono is also busy making a follow-up special to his Emmy nominated documentary, “Becoming Chaz,” for Oprah’s OWN network. Bono also Hopes at some point to write a book and a film for transgender teens — he’s also still working on that beard.

“I’m not going to shave,” for the Emmys Bono tells me. “I will trim and it will look ordered. I’m not going to shave for a while.”

Expect to see a hairy but tastefully dressed Chaz Bono Waltzing onto your TV for ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” season premiere on September 19.

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 13 Cast Revealed

'Dancing With The Stars'

Summoning the who’s who of the backwaters of cable television, the “Dancing With The Stars” season 13 cast has officially been announced.

Leading the pack is David Arquette, who was linked with the show a few weeks back. He just got back from a trip to Africa to help raise awareness of malaria prevention, and perhaps his good karma will get him closer to the mirror ball trophy. Last season, Hines Ward took home the top prize; the season before that, Jennifer Grey was the winner.

Perhaps the most intriguing entrant is Elisabetta Canalis, the Italian model and ex-girlfriend of George Clooney. And by far most hilariously, Nancy Grace, the bombastic Headline News host, will also be competing for a shot at dance floor immortality.

Also, there will be a bit of a family rivalry, as Ron Artest, teammate of Khloe Kardashian’s husband Lamar Odom, is squaring off against Rob Kardashian, her brother.

Here’s the full list; in the comments, tell us what you think. The season starts September 19th.

Ricki Lake
Ron Artest
Kristin Cavallari
Chynna Phillips
David Arquette
Carson Kressley
Nancy Grace
J.R. Martinez
Hope Solo
Rob Kardashian
Elisabetta Canalis
Chaz Bono

Pauly D Is Too Good For ‘Dancing With The Stars’

Pauly D

Pauly DelVecchio is the only cast member that went into the “Jersey Shore” house with a legitimate career and might be the only one to leave the place with one. During a sit down with “New York Live” host Sara Gore and I, Pauly D divulged that he’s earning more than $10k per night, DJing — although he hopes the IRS doesn’t catch wind of that. But the high price tag on Pauly’s head means he won’t be fist pumping on the ballroom dance floor anytime soon.

“I will do ‘Dancing with the Stars’ when my career dips,” he confessed.

The high-hair DJ also revealed that if Snooki is a “Dancing” contestant this season, she doesn’t know about it.

“I texted her congratulations about doing ‘Dancing,’ but she texted back ‘am I?'” Pauly tells me.

Pauly is happy to be back in Jersey after his fame-making show filmed in Italy last season, where, he is the first to admit, the cultural difference confused him immensely: “There are no tanning salons, which is a problem for me. The gym is an hour away and you have to carry your laundry because the streets are so narrow. GTL was a mess. Everything else was beautiful. You had to go to a nail salon if you want to go tanning.”

Still, no one is more surprised about the show’s overnight success than Pauly.

“Just being on television blows my mind but the fact people watch it blows my mind.”

Lady Gaga Opens Up About Amy Winehouse, Clarence Clemons: Singer Co-Hosts On ‘The View’ (VIDEO)

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, looking quite conservative (for Gaga, that is) in a houndstooth-only ensemble, co-hosted “The View” today with Whoopi, Joy, Barbara and Elizabeth, and the women started the morning segment with some hard-hitting questions about the price of fame and her past drug-use.

Whoopi was quick to ask “The Edge of Glory” singer about her thoughts on Amy Winehouse’s death, to which Gaga replied, “I don’t feel like Amy needed to learn any lessons. I feel like the lesson was for the world to be kinder to the superstar.”

But the ladies of ‘The View’ didn’t waste any time before grilling Gaga about her own hard drug use. Last month, Gaga opened up to Howard Stern about her past hard drug-use, calling cocaine the devil. Gaga didn’t hold back on ‘The View’ either, telling the day-time talk-show queens: “I was so embarrassed. my dad called me out about it one day. My dad was like, ‘I know what you’re doing. I did it, and I lost every friend and everything I ever had when I did it.’ He shared with me his struggle, and that was what ultimately saved my life.”

Gaga also opened up about another famous performer who recently passed away–famed saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who Gaga collaborated with on her hit single “The Edge of Glory.”

The E Street Band saxophonist died in June from complications due to a stroke, but not before filming with Lady Gaga for her “The Edge of Glory” music video, which featured Clemons on saxophone. The music video is an intimate moment between Clemons and the “Born This Way” superstar. Featuring just the two of them, Clemons is seen in the video sitting on a stoop next to Gaga as he blows the instrument he became synonymous with.

“He really was like a father-figure,” said Gaga. “We had six wonder months of really close friendship, Clarence and I. He really changes your life so quickly, and you don’t know why and you can’t explain it, but he really does have this godly spirit around him. It was so important to me that he and I were the only two people in that video.”

Gaga then performed her next single, “You & I”, off her multi-platinum “Born This Way” album and wrapped things up by singing a few a capella lines of “The Edge of Glory” for the “The View” ladies.