and chaz bono joins me now fresh from the cha-cha along with his partner lacey schwimmer.ges seemed to like it, you two. how did yit feel, chaz. >> it felt good. i want to enjoy every second of this, even the tough times and i had a really good time out there. >> you kicked some serious butt, my friend. >> lacey, how hard is it to teach chaz to dance? >> you know, actually he picks up very fast. >> it's a joy and a pleasure. >> it is a joy and a pleasure. not just because he's sitting next to me. he picks up very fast. he has rhythm. it's just about getting his body to handle the pressure of it. >> there has been controversy, chaz. did it get in your head at all tonight as you were out there on the floor? >> no, not at all. no, it doesn't get in my head. i mean i'm really good at opportunitying that stuff out. >> yeah, so to the people who say you shouldn't be out there at all, what do you say? >> i don't -- you know, i don't have anything to say. i'm here. so what are you going to do? >> so was it fun? were you having a good time? >> i did. i mean i've had a great time. t

. >> reporter: with his dancing partner, lacey schwimmer, at his side, chaz addressed the furor. >> i'm her son, on twitter to her thousands of followers. i support him no matter what he chooses to do, cher tweeted. later, bet vast majority will love chaz on dtws. and conrad green is having viewers to bring an open mind. >> one of the great strengths of our show is your ability to have preconceived ideas about people. but when you see them on the show, you might end up with different opinions about them. >>> and chaz bono joins us live from los angeles. thanks for getting up early this morning, chaz. >> thanks for having me. >> are you surprised by all this? >> you know, to be honest, i really haven't been paying that much attention to it. i'm really kind of just focused on dancing and enjoying everything that's happening. and i think everybody else -- it's a much bigger deal to everybody else than it is to me. >> you have tremendous powers of focus. i congratulate you on that. in that piece right there, you said that america needs to see this. what does america need to see? >> well, i

. >> reporter: with "dancing with the stars" partner lacey schwimmer by his side transgender activistno spoke out for the first time in the wake of some high-profile ire aimed squarely at the choice of picking a transgendered competitor. like these woror on "inside edition" from 1 "million moms" director. >> we will not be able to watch the show with chaz on this. this is going to be very confusing for children and should not be included in their cast. >> reporter: but chaz says such opinions are motivating him all the more, to share the truth about his new life. >> you know, it just kind of shows why, for me, it's important to be on the show is because so little still is known about what it means to be transgendered. and there's so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have. >> reporter: in chaz's corner, his mother, cher, who gave birth to then-chastity bono 42 years ago. and called on her 340,000 twitter followers to back her son just as she's doing. i support him no matter what he chooses to do, cher tweeted. adding later, bet vast majority of people

this is the first glimpse of chaz dancing with partner lacey schwimmer. >> will the joints ever not hurtsy. has it died down? did you let it affect you? >> i don't know if it's died down or not. i didn't let it affect me. >> reporter: rumor has it, mom will be in the audience for one performance. how's he doing? >> at first, very scared. it took a lot of effort to get him to do things. now that he's comfortable with it, he's starting to have fun. it's cool. >> it will be fun. hopefully, i won't be too nervous to overlook the fun aspect. >> reporter: how would you describe her so far, personality, how is everything coming together? >> funny, determined. >> don't mess in up. >> i have to say nice. >> reporter: nancy grace is known for her hard-hitting legal analysis. whether the world objects to her skills remains to be seen. >> i'm going the keep the same mind set as in the courtroom. you know you've been in the end zone before. you can do it. >> reporter: carson kressley enjoys doing dead-on impressions of his competitors. i heard you have a killer nancy grace impression. >> i kind of do