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Chaz Bono’s Dancing With The Stars dance partner / instructor Lacey Schwimmer went on the Johnjay and Rich radio show to essentially say that she’s proud of Chaz’s progress thus far and that people need to “get over” focusing on the fact that he’s transgender.
Schwimmer, a competitive ballroom dancer who’s been formerly paired with openly gay pop star Lance Bass on DTWS, had nothing but positive things to say about working with Chaz, who’s been the brunt of a torrid of transphobic comments since the announcement that he would be joining the show’s 13th season.
But before Lacey weighed in on working with Chaz, the guys on the Johnjay and Rich Show had this to say, “I’ve been hearing interviews with Chaz, and I know people who’ve gone through the change before and Chaz seems like Chaz is a dude now. It kind of is a fully realized thing, which I think is sort of cool that he knew that.”
Schwimmer echoed that sentiment saying, “Everyone is saying he’s not a guy. He’s a full man in every way, shape and form, and when you look at him, when you talk to him, everything about him screams male. People need to get over that whole hump of everything going on and accept him and accept him as a human being and he’s happy and people should be happy for him.”
Regarding working with Chaz on honing his dance moves Schwimmer says, “With Chaz, he’s very shy. He has a lot of little insecurities but he’s starting to open up and he’s starting to be silly with me and just show me his personality. We’re having a lot of fun. He’s kicking ass in rehearsals right now. I’m super proud of him. He’s gone through so much and he’s so brave and it’s really cool to be a part of it with him.”
She also said that Chaz has a lot of heart and that he is going to shock people with his dancing prowess.
Johnjay and Rich asked Schwimmer what sort of mash-up name she and Chaz might like to use as their dancing moniker. She says that she likes “Team Shwaz” while Chaz is partial to “Team Boner.”
Listen to the interview here.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
