As I’m sure you all know by now, Chaz Bono was voted off Dancing With the Stars this week. His elimination has sparked a lot of emotion (from both fans and haters), as well as many questions about the show. Is it a dance competition or a popularity contest? Are the judges comments actually constructive or just entertaining for shock value? And of course, the biggest question of all, is this Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s show? 😉
Chaz expressed disdain for Bruno Tonioli after the judge called him an Ewok a few weeks ago and a penguin on Monday. Taking the high road (with a bit of a dig), he tells Life and Style, “I don’t have to wake up and be Bruno tomorrow, I get to wake up and be me.” That seems to be putting a positive spin on the situation.
His dance partner, Lacey Schwimmer, elaborates , “I think they need to focus on actually judging dancing skills rather than a personality or the look. The judges and comments and scores kind of set it all up [for us to be eliminated in the public vote].” While I agree with that logic, I also feel like people who get lots of audience votes can stay around longer than improving dancers with less of a fan base. Must be the nature of the beast.
Regardless, Chaz is proud of his time on the show, as any DWTS contestant should be–especially those with no prior dancing experience. He gained a lot from the experience, stating, “I learned that I was capable of so much more than I thought I was.” Kudos to anyone who is able to say that about anything in their lives!
While Chaz seems to be bowing out gracefully, his superstar mother Cher isn’t following suit. She had some very choice tweets for Bruno and Len Goodman. Taking to twitter, Cher vented, “Going Home is Fine but why insult him b4 he Goes! Maybe Rudeness & Flapping Arms take the place of TALENT….As for the Older Gentleman ….every Show Needs A Grumpy Old Man !” Hmmm….to whom could she be referring?
Carrie Ann Inaba was spared from Cher’s tirade. Chaz’s celebrity mother gave a shout out to the third judge, tweeting, “Thank u Carrie Ann 4 your Gentility u r beautiful inside & out.” Cher later continued, “The Chick is beautiful & Polite ! The Men suck.” You can’t really fault a mother for coming to the defense of her child, can you?
It’s a slippery slope…I’m trying not to take a stance, but I do have to applaud anyone who steps out of their comfort zone and sincerely seems to be trying to bring awareness to a cause near and dear, whether it is widely accepted or hyper-criticized. Do I think Chaz is a great decent dancer? He’s better than me, but that is not saying much. However, I think anyone who goes on this show, especially with no background in dance, is pretty courageous.
Photo credit: WENN
DWTS: DANCING COMPETITION OR POPULARITY CONTEST? DO YOU THINK CHAZ (AND HIS FANS) ARE MORE UPSET ABOUT THE ELIMINATION OR THE JUDGES’ COMMENTS? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CHER’S REACTION?
