and i thought surely sonny bono would understand that, but he didn't. and he said a pretty, um, obtuse remark, actually, about the n.e.a. he said, "i never knew anybody who received an n.e.a. grant," ergo it wasn't important. that was just silly. he didn't get around much. well, in other cases, you had people who were champions that i think most americans wouldn't think of immediately when they're thinking about, sort of, heroes of free expression. possibly the least offensive musician in america, kenny g., steps up and takes a stand for the n.e.a. can you talk a little bit about that? oh, i loved it when some of the musicians came to the hill to advocate for the national endowment for the arts. and kenny g. went to a congressman who said, "well, you know, i do believe in the arts, but i'm just not going to vote for the n.e.a." and kenny looked right at him and said, "well, that's not very courageous, is it?" it's terrific. i have to believe that taking the job on at the national endowment for the arts required a couple of strong personality traits. one

bono and enchanting her parents' audience. say good night. >> good night everybody, god bless you. >> reporter: the famous daughter of sonny andr comfortable as a girl so almost two years ago underwent gender reassignment surgery. >> chaz bono. >> reporter: last month bono had been cast on the show sparked immediate controversy. among those calling for a boycott was the american family association. monica cole is director of the christian ministry group. >> this is going to be very confusing for children and should not be included in their cast. >> abc and "dancing with the stars" are taking what ostensibly was a family friendly show and pushing transgenderism down on the american public. >> reporter: dan gainer of the american research center believes it's all a ratings game with negative consequences. >> abc is certainly normalizing what is clearly abnormal behavior. >> reporter: with his dancing partner at his side chaz addressed the ballroom backlash. >> it's made me realize i'm really glad i'm doing this because america really needs to see this. >> reporter: bono has become the most public face of the transgendered commun

the child of cher and sonny bono busting a move there. as you well know was born a girl. now lives life as a man. sporting a beard and suit and tie with a female dance partner. they finished with 17 points. watch. ♪ . martha: then again, so did this pair. the former "queer eye for the straight guy" host, carson kressley. let's say he got a little bit of work to do apparently to improve his dancing skills out there. the critics giving crestly the lead foot of the night. bill: he was good fun. he was enjoying over moment of it. martha: he is so funny. bill: producers helped bono to the very end, chaz. they knew what they were doing. martha: yeah. bill: they want to see how --. martha: you how was nancy grace, bill? bill: they were all great. it is first night. they take three steps to the right, three steps to the left and they call it a deal. >>> a middle east showdown at the united nations. the palestinian president pressing ahead to get the palestinians recognized as full members of the united nations. eric shawn is live at the u.n. here

for those who may not remember chaz was born chastity bono, the daughter of sonny bono and cher. become a man at age 39. an online campaign is promoting a boycott of dancing if chaz is not removed from the show. >> it's made me realize i'm really glad i'm doing this because america really needs to see this. >> reporter: with "dancing with the stars" partner lacey schwimmer by his side transgender activist chaz bono 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 stereo

of that started, t.j., when abc announced earlier this week that chaz bono, the son of cher and sonny bono. viewers began lashing out at abc on the message boards accusing the network of pushing a ho homosexual agenda. chaz's famous mom has had enough of the backlash and cher is jumping to the defense of her son on twitter and i want to read some of what cher has been twit i tweeting. she is saying "lovely, chaz is being viciously attacked on blogs and message boards. this is america, right? it took guts to do it. i support him no matter what he chooses to do. god, will there always be haters? it took courage to do dancing with the stars. chaz tweets thank you for your support mom. the haters are motivating me to work harder and stay on dancing with the stars as long as i can." it's turning it into something positive. >> this has got to be good to have people talking about that show. >>> last thing here, mike tyson, that's what i need to see in boxing, mike tyson back in the ring, the heavyweight division is just not what it used to be so he's making a comeback, right? >> yeah but not in t

. >> the daughter of sonny and cher, chastity bono is now chaz bono. >> good to know that o'reilly is kitchen table issues of the country. >> mr. bono is getting all kinds of publicity, even appearing on a dance program. >> the program that o'reilly is talking about is "dancing with the stars." and the publicity that o'reilly is referring to seems to be coming from one source in particular, fox news. fox's go-to medical expert believes that chaz performing the cha-cha on national tv is harmful to your kids. ablow has gone on several fox news programs and written online columns advising parents not to allow their children to watch the show because bono's gender identity will confuse them. but ablow is not basing his hysteria in medical fact. the american psychiatry association states, quote, there is no evidence that viewing a television game show with a transgender contestant would induce gender identity disorder in young people. well, ablow, quit the american psychiatry association and pushed his panic button on fox again. >> mr. bono is doing more than dancing. he's on a campaign th

who was born chastity bono with sonny and cher. she'll participate as a man with a female partner and people are upset about this. abc is apparently getting nasty emails accusing them of having a transgender or gay agenda which is confusing apples and oranges. and saying they are not going to watch the show anymore. >> this is what i have a problem with. those message boards, they are attacking chaz bono but not mentioning carson cressly who is openly gay. megyn: you want more hate. >> i don't want more hate. i want the people to think about these messages they are writing. do people know chaz bono? he is a real i-nice guy. it's not fair for people to go after him. abc wants ratings? people will watch the show. >> i don't think this is about pushing a gay agenda or transgender agenda. this is pushing a ratings agenda. every year there is controversy. there what is controversy when bristol palin was on. there are gay people in this country and entrance gender. megyn: what parents are objecting to is i don't want to be forced to have

i have a flash back for you now as chastity bono, she was the blond angel-faced daughter of sonny and70s. now all grown up as a man, chaz bono will be the first frans gendered competitor on "dancing with the stars." is his new gig a milestone for the movement? is society crossing a threshold to a more accepting attitude? i put those questions to human behavior expert dr. wendy walsh. >> absolutely. i think our culture is continuing to become more and more enlightened. every once in a while when one person is brave enough to step into the limelight and represent a variation of the human species, it's a great thing for all of us. >> it's clearly, i think, correct me if i'm wrong, it's a moment for transpeople, for -- at least for the world if not america here with "dancing with the stars" to learn about them and the issues they face. >> it's a great opportunity to learn about them. and one of the lessons is that there really is a third gender. but that third gender isn't one thing. it's a catchall for a host of physiological, chromosomeal variations. >> chaz bono has received a lot of h

bono, he had a score of 17. and those are your headlines. >> brian: you would think that there was some -- with cher and sonny, you would think chaz bono would off with laura ingraham. how are you? >> good. >> steve: when what did you think of the president of the united states? ten days ago he promised he was going to reveal his grand plan to fix the debt and yesterday as it turns out, his big idea is just class warfare. >> september 8 we heard the president talk about the need for things like entitlement reform, social security, medicare, all of this is going to be tackled. then i think he heard a lot from his base. they're angry. you need to get angry. you need to show passion. you need to draw your line in the sand. the republicans did it leading up to their own grand announcements about how to fix this economy and boehner is saying he's not going to go for any tax increases. so you need to respond in kind. and i'll tell you, all you need to know is that last night on a competing cable network, michael moore was so happy, he actually washed his baseball cap. [ laughter ] i'm telling you, kilmeade, he was did glowing. >> brian: i don't se

bono. the only child of the legendary music duo sonny and cher.erica on her parents' variety show. >> good night, everybody. >> good d ght, everybody, god bless you. >> reporter: the 42-year-old has undergone gender transformation therapy. two years ago chaz legally changed his name and gender. >> i'm going to focus on the actual task at hand. >> reporter: while bono doesn't seem bothered by the viewer backlash his mother cher took to twitter to respond to some of the critic i support him no matter what he chooses to do. god, will there always be haters? it took courage to do "dancing with the stars." thank god chaz has an unlimited supply." bono will be spinning around the ball room with lacy schwimmer who said she was thrilled when she found out chaz was her partner. it should all make for a fascinating season, the show's 13th on abc. t.j. winick, abc news. >> i guess conrad green who is the executive producer has defended their choice. he came out and said, the fact i think the whole family can watch our show together, we're not going to be mak