Chaz Bono -- Fearless with the Change

Posted Nov 19th 2009 12:45AM by TMZ Staff

Chaz Bono debuted his new look this morning -- and said since he started transitioning from female to male, "Life is just great now."


Cher and Sonny Bono's daughter-turned-son was on "GMA," where he called his sex change "the best decision I've ever made" because he's now "living the life I've always wanted to live."

Chaz is now only eight months into a years-long process.

Filed under: Chastity Bono

Tags: chastity bono, ChastityBono, chaz bono, ChazBono, cher, sonny bono, SonnyBono, transition

Sonny's Republican Widow: I Got You Chaz!

Posted Jun 11th 2009 2:56PM by TMZ Staff

Sonny Bono's widow -- Congresswoman Mary Bono -- tells TMZ she's behind Chastity Bono all the way.

Mary Bono, who followed in her late husband's Republican footsteps, says she "loves and supports Chaz."

Bono, who didn't take a stand on California's Prop 8 anti-gay marriage initiative, "is hopeful that his privacy and very personal decisions will be respected during this time."

Filed under: Chastity Bono

Tags: chastity bono, ChastityBono, sonny bono, SonnyBono

GLAAD -- Bravo to Bono

Posted Jun 11th 2009 2:47PM by TMZ Staff

TMZ just got this statement from Neil G. Giuliano, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD):

"Chaz Bono's decision to live his life authentically represents an important step forward, both for him personally and for all who are committed to advancing discussions about fairness and equality for transgender people," said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "Coming out as transgender is an extremely personal decision and one that is never made lightly. We look forward to hearing Chaz's story in his own words in the future."

"GLAAD encourages media outlets to cover this story accurately, and to avoid speculation about the details of Chaz's story before he is ready to tell it in his own words."

"The GLAAD Media Reference Guide and the Associated Press Stylebook call on media to use the name and pronoun preferred by the transgender person - in this case, referring to him as Chaz and using male pronouns."

Filed under: Chastity Bono

Tags: Chastity Bono, ChastityBono, cher, gender reassignment surgery, GenderReassignmentSurgery, glaad, sonny bono, SonnyBono

Cher Goes To Washington

Posted Jun 13th 2006 12:21PM by TMZ Staff

Cher may have completed her seemingly never ending farewell tour last year, but she's not shying away from the limelight post musical retirement.  The first big time single-named female pop star is lending her famous moniker to  Operation-Helmet.org.

The non-partisan Operation-Helmet's stated goals are to provide free helmet upgrade kits to U.S. troops serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. The kits are designed to increase safety and comfort for the soldiers in battlefield conditions.

To help get the message out, Cher will take to the airwaves on C-Span's 'Washington Journal' this Thursday morning. Cher will even appear in the building, where her late-husband Sonny Bono served as a California Congressman, when she appears with Operation-Helmet leaders to testify before a House Armed Services Subcommittee that same afternoon. Cher also took up the troops' cause by calling in at a very early hout to the C-Span show on Memorial Day weekend to endorse the helmet campaign.

This is not, of course, Cher's first attempt at comforting the troops. We all remember her famous video for "If I Could Turn Back Time" where she straddled a big gun turret aboard the battleship USS Missouri surrounded by all those Navy uniforms. Hopefully, Cher will wear more than a few strips of clothing when she appears before Congress this week. 

Filed under: Music, Sound Bytes

Tags: afghanistan, cher, iraq, sonny bono, SonnyBono