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Inside the life of Chaz Bono: Cher had problems with him being gay

Chaz Bono has been through a lot, and being the child of a major music star and actress in Cher hasn’t made things much easier. He’s always been in the public spotlight, and that can be difficult even at the best of times.

However, few stories are more inspirational than Chaz’s is. In 2011, at age 39, he began his transition to the male gender. Cher has always been supportive of her beloved son, though things weren’t easy in the beginning.

In fact, Cher had problems with her son being gay at first. According to Chaz, she went “ballistic” when she found out.

Chaz Bono
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Most people probably know Cher. When I think of her, I can’t help but think on her amazing career. When she started out, she did so alongside Sonny Bono, a person with whom she had both a wonderful and stormy relationship.

The couple met for the first time in Los Angeles, when Cher had dropped out of high school at 16 and moved LA. She took acting classes and worked to support herself. Boy, was she a terrific singer.

Chaz Bono – the son of Cher

Sonny, who was 11 years older, worked as an assistant to legendary record producer Phil Spector. Before long, the couple started to hit it off.

Bono found work for Cher as a backup session singer, where she performed on many of Specter’s recordings. The Ronettes’ super-hit Be My Baby and The Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling were just two of many songs Cheer worked on.

Sonny and Cher first collaborated on their own records in 1964. However, their first singles weren’t really what the audience wanted. This all changed in September 1964, when they released Baby Don’t Go.

Cher’s mother Georgia Holt had her brother Mickey hire the duo to open for the Righteous Brothers, and it was the start of a long and successful career which would culminate with Cher being labeled “The Goddess of Pop.

Cher and her family

Baby Don’t Go became the duo’s first hit, and proved the beginning of a highly successful pairing that lasted until the mid-1970s.

And on a personal level, the love between Cher and Sonny grew.

Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Though Cher was immediately interested in Bono, he was actually said to be more interested in one of her friends.

“I was with my girlfriend, who was really beautiful,” Cher recalled. “He liked her, so he didn’t really say anything to me. He was like, ‘Oh yeah, kid.’”

She added that “everyone just disappeared” when she first saw him, recalling that “he was the most unusual person I’d ever seen.”

Soon, Cher and Bono were living together. They began a romantic relationship, though this took a while to blossom. According to Cher, Bono simply wasn’t physically attracted to her at first. That soon changed, and the couple began dating for real.

In 1965, the two got married – and at the same time, started to work on their professional music careers.

Most importantly, the couple had a child, Chaz Bono, together. He was originally born Chastity Bono on March 4, 1969. However, because he was a celebrity child, he became famous immediately and it wasn’t long before TV audiences got to see him.

Chaz Bono – early life

Bono was named after the movie Chasity, a movie produced by Sonny. Cher played the lead role, portraying a young, bisexual hippie runaway.

Apparently, Chastity was conceived during the making of the film.

As a child, Chaz appeared numerous times in The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He usually came on at the end of each episode, when Sonny and Cher sang “I Got You Babe“.

In this way, Chaz became a familiar face to the American audience.

But few knew what he was going through at home and at school. Early in his life, Chaz couldn’t relate to other girls and their interests.

Chaz Bono Cher
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”I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their interest in fashion or which boy was the cutest,” Chaz told Daily Mail in 2011.

Came out as a lesbian

At age 18, Chaz came out to both parents as a lesbian.

“As a child, I always felt there was something different about me. I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley,” Chaz wrote in his book Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families.”

“When I was 13, I finally found a name for exactly how I was different. I realized I was gay.”

For Cher, who would later become an icon among the LGBTQ community, it wasn’t “easy” for her to deal with her daughter coming out as a lesbian.

“When I found out Chaz was gay, I didn’t go through it that easily,” Cher said in an interview with PrideSource.

Cher
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But according to Chaz himself, his mom actually “went ballistic” when he originally came out to her.

Then, at the age of 39, Chaz began his transition to the male gender.

Transition into a man

It wasn’t until 2010 that Chaz officially became a man, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change.

In the documentary Becoming Chaz, which was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on Oprah Winfrey Network, viewers got the chance to follow Chaz’s transition into a man.

“My mother went through a kind of mourning period. It was difficult for her, and we didn’t see each other for about the first year of my transition,” Chaz told SBS Australia.

Just as Chaz said himself, his mother Cher had a tough time in the beginning.

Chaz Bono
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The Oscar-winning actress and singer has always been a great supporter of the LGBTQ community, but in the beginning, it sure wasn’t easy, as she recalls it.

“It was very unlike me to, in the beginning, have a problem with Chaz being gay, and it disappeared like that,” Cher told CNN in 2020, as she recalls her initial reaction.

“Then we talked about [whether Bono was] transgender for many years. And he would say, ‘No, I don’t want to [transition]. And then he went and said, ‘OK, I want to do this.’”

Hard time listening to voice message

Cher recalled calling Chaz and his old voicemail message was still on the phone. For her, it was difficult, but as hours and days went by, she slowly started to remember that nothing will change Bono essentially.

“You don’t really lose them. They just are in a different shape,” she said.

As early as 9-years of age, Cher had her first encounter with the gay community.

“One day I came home and there were these two men in my living room with my mom and my aunt,” she recalled

“They were doing their hair and talking, and I was thinking, ‘Why haven’t we ever had these kind of guys around? Because these guys are the coolest. That was my [introduction to] the gay world,” Cher said, adding that “gay people don’t feel like they fit in, and I never felt like I fit in.”

Cher
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Since the aforesaid documentary aired in 2011, Chaz has appeared several times in Hollywood. The same year as the documentary was released, he actually became the first transgender man to participate in Dancing with the Stars.

Chaz Bono today

It marked the first time a transgender man had starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender, according to Advocate.com.

Five years later, Chaz starred in five episodes of American Horror Story: Roanoke, and play Reverend Rydale on The Bold and the Beautiful.

At the same time that Chaz has been building his acting career, he’s also gone through quite a weight struggle.

For many years, Chaz suffered from obesity, and simply couldn’t thrive in his body. The turning point towards a healthier lifestyle came when he began his gender transition.

Instagram/Chazbono

”I would have never been able to do it before,” he told Oprah.

“I was too disconnected from my body, and to, you know – the dysphoria around, that I had with my body was too much to be able to have cared enough about to do anything like that.”

Inspirational weight loss

When Chaz first appeared Dancing With The Stars, he weighed 250lb – but the competition and all the ensuing practice made him lose weight, rapidly. That’s perhaps not so strange considering how much training and movement is required to succeed on the dance floor.

But it seems that Chaz continued with his new, healthier lifestyle even after the TV show. He has continued to lose weight, and new pictures of him show that he is far from the unhealthy weight he was at 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, however, the weight loss journey has not been entirely painless for Chaz. When you lose a lot of pounds, it’s not always easy for the body to keep up. As a result, Chaz has a lot of sagging excess skin.

Instagram/Chazbono

“It’s not fun, but it was worth it, because I look better now. I’ve cut out, you know, 99 percent of grains from my diet, ‘he revealed. ‘I pretty much eat vegetables, meat, fruit, nuts … My birthday is the one day of the year I’ll do cake,” Chaz told Extra TV.

“He did it all by himself”

His mother, Cher, has repeatedly praised her son’s courage and journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

”He did it all by himself. He made up his own mind and he did it. And it was like what — 85, 90 pounds. Wow! … I do not know if I’d have that courage.” Cher said in 2013.

Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

Chaz Bono partner

Chaz has grown up in the spotlight, and his dating history has often captured media attention. Many year ago, Chaz was linked to Jennifer Elia. The couple had been dating since 1999, and Chaz even proposed to Elia atop Seattle’s space needle.

However, their relationship was occasionally quite tumultuous. The couple went through a lot together; Jennifer Elia supported Chaz throughout his gender reassignment process and later expressed that she found her partner “more attractive” as a man.

Chaz Bono and Jennifer Elia arrive at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on April 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Caulfield/WireImage)

But, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Elia disclosed that coping with Chaz’s transition was challenging at times. She admitted to turning to alcohol again when he informed her of his final decision to undergo gender reassignment.

They couple separated in 2011.

”Chaz Bono and his fiancée, Jennifer Elia, have jointly announced that they have called off their engagement and are no longer a couple,” a rep said at the time and added: ”They leave this relationship with great love, respect and affection towards one another.”

After a few years, Chaz found love again. He entered into a relationship with his partner, Shara Mathes, starting in 2017. Sarah Mathes is a former child artist and social worker known for her roles in Hollywood. She became famous after appearing alongside Jason Bateman in the 1984 comedy series, It’s Your Move.

The show ended in 1985 and Shara has now left the entertainment industry. According to Daily Mail, she now works for homeless charity Housing Works in Los Angeles, California.

Chaz and Shara is believed to have met through mutual friends, and they sure have many things in common. However, details about the couple have been sparse, and both Chaz and Shara seem keen on keeping their relationship as private as possible. Nevertheless, some details have surfaced in the tabloids. A source close to Chaz and Shara revealed, “Shara was newly single when she first met Chaz, and she wasn’t looking for love.”

Judging by the photos shared on social media, it appears that Chaz’s family has warmly embraced Shara.

Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt, expressed her approval of Mathes by inviting her to join the family for her 91st birthday celebrations in June 2017.


Lately, both Chaz and Shara have maintained a relatively low profile about their relationship on social media in 2023. Chaz’s last post featuring them together dates back to January when the couple celebrated their 6th anniversary on January 20th. In his post, he expressed gratitude, stating, ”Shara and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary together today. I’m so grateful to share my life with this amazing woman.”

Chaz Bono is such an inspiration for us all. His courage and bravery in transitioning are amazing. Most importantly, however, he followed his heart and didn’t care what other people thought.

Please, share this story to honor Chaz Bono. Hopefully, this can encourage others in the same situation to do the same.

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Elon Musk’s brutal four-word response to Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift had a rough Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Not only did her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, leave the game empty-handed — but the pop icon herself was also met with boos when she appeared on the big screens.

Taylor Swift’s reaction

With a fan base in the tens of millions and a reputation free from scandal, Taylor Swift has been one of the world’s most famous women in recent years. Yet, even she isn’t immune to being met with a chorus of boos.

During last night’s Super Bowl LIX, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the superstar songstress seemed to be minding her own business when she became a target for the crowd. Swift – at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans to support boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Chiefs – looked to mouth “What is going on?” to friend and fellow artist Ice Spice.

Taylor Swift was born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, and a few years ago, she was spotted wearing a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt while strolling through New York City. However, she naturally shifted allegiance to the Kansas City Chiefs when she started dating superstar Travis Kelce.

The pro-Eagles crowd in New Orleans didn’t seem to have forgotten Swift’s past support for the Eagles before switching to the Chiefs. When the superstar singer appeared on the big screen, fans greeted her with loud boos.

Trump couldn’t resist

One person who couldn’t resist commenting on Taylor Swift’s chilly reception was Donald Trump, who was also at the game as the first sitting president in history to attend. Taking to his Truth Social platform, he couldn’t resist commenting on the situation, suggesting that his loyal MAGA supporters were less than kind.

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“The only one who had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!” Trump wrote.

In contrast, Trump was met with an overwhelming reception, as fans appeared thrilled to see the U.S. President attend a Super Bowl for the first time.

The popular yet controversial account End Wokeness highlighted the stark contrast between the reactions to Taylor Swift and Donald Trump at the Super Bowl.

In a tweet, they wrote: ”Taylor Swift got mercilessly booed. Trump got a hero’s welcome. Total culture shift.”

Elon’s brutal four-word response

The comment sparked a response from one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, billionaire Elon Musk, who also joined in on mocking Taylor Swift. Elon Musk couldn’t resist chiming in, replying with a simple yet impactful: ”Vibe shift is real.”

This wasn’t the first time Tesla founder Elon Musk has taken aim at the pop icon. When Taylor Swift finally made a political endorsement, supporting Kamala Harris, Musk shared his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Fine Taylor…you win… I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” in what appeared to be a jab at Swift, who had signed off her endorsement with “childless cat lady.

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Fans reveal why Taylor Swift was booed at the Super Bowl

She commands a fan base numbering in the tens of millions, has been one of the most famous women on the planet over the past two years, and has a reputation unblemished by scandal or defamation. Yet even Taylor Swift can find herself the subject of an en masse booing, apparently.

During last night’s Super Bowl LIX, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the superstar songstress seemed to be minding her own business when she became a target for the crowd. Swift – at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans to support boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Chiefs – looked to mouth “What is going on?” to friend and fellow artist Ice Spice.

The unexpected booing began when the camera panned to Swift in her box, subsequently beaming her image on the big screen before the 75,000 strong crowd.

Needless to say, Swift was as taken aback as anyone, and the negative reaction has posed the question: just why did it happen in the first place?

Well, as is always the case these days, it wasn’t long before the incident was being debated on social media. Moreover, no sooner had the video of Swift being booed hit the internet, than did fans on X attempt to decipher exactly what was going on.

“Eagles fans are booing her. She’s originally from Philly area but obviously rooting for Travis and chiefs,” one person wrote.

Another added: “The booos are from eagles fans aka the opposite team she supports this is normal.”

It’s the Eagles fans,” a third said.

There were naturally still those who were bemused by the turn of events, with many people taking to X to share their reactions.

Why did she get booed?” one person asked. “I thought she was the sweetheart of America?

Booing taylor swift as if she’s playing on the field against ‘your’ team, even though she’s just sitting there looking pretty, is loser behavior,” said another.

“What I don’t understand is why people booed at Taylor Swift? Like she was doing literally nothing and she’s just there to show support to Travis Kelce and see the game, it’s not like they’re going to make a Gabriella-Troy scene in High School Musical 3,” a third wrote.

One person who wasn’t on the receiving end of any ire was Donald Trump, who reportedly became the first sitting president in US history to attend a Super Bowl.

When the camera panned to the POTUS – who only took his oath of office three weeks ago – cheers rang out around the stadium. “I thought it would be a good thing for the country to have the president at the game,” Trump had said in an interview.

In the game itself, the Eagles emerged triumphant over the Chiefs in a 40-22 victory, stopping the Chiefs from repeating the success they enjoyed last year.

Did you watch last night’s Super Bowl? What did you think to the crowd booing Taylor Swift? Let us know in the comments.

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Princess Diana’s bodyguard says 3 mistakes killed her

Three fatal security failures led to Princess Diana’s tragic death — at least, that’s what her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, claims.

It’s hard to believe that nearly 30 years have passed since Princess Diana’s tragic death. The world lost an icon, a humanitarian, and two young boys lost their mother. It’s impossible not to wonder what she would be like today — how she would look, what role she would have taken on, and how she might have continued to shape the world.

First meeting with Diana

Ken Wharfe, her former bodyguard who spent six years working closely with her, remembers her fondly. Reflecting on Diana’s impact, he praised her ”wicked sense of humor” and said he felt ”incredibly privileged” to have been part of her life.

Wharfe recalled that from the very first time he met Princess Diana, she showed just how down-to-earth she truly was.

”As I walked into the room, I was introduced, and Diana said, ‘I don’t envy you, Ken, looking after my kids. They can be a bloody nuisance,’” Wharfe told The Sun.

Right on cue, young William, who had been attempting to play the piano, spun around and objected, “No, we’re not a bloody nuisance!” Just as he spoke, Harry tumbled off a table.

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

”Diana immediately got up and said, ‘Come here, both of you!’ before chasing them out of the room. I hadn’t even said a word yet,” Wharfe recalled.

She returned moments later, shaking her head.

”You see what I mean, Ken?”, she said.

That moment, he explained, changed everything.

”Suddenly, instead of talking to a royal, you were speaking to a parent, a young mother, someone you could truly relate to.”

And that, he said, was Diana in a nutshell—full of fun, laughter, and, at times, deep sadness.

A dangerous driver behind the wheel

Having served as her personal protection officer from 1987 to 1993, Wharfe insists that the People’s Princess might still be alive today if key decisions had been made differently.

One of the most critical mistakes, according to Wharfe, was who was driving the car that fateful August night in 1997.

Diana was traveling with her boyfriend, Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, as well as Ritz security chief Henri Paul, who was behind the wheel, and Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones — the crash’s sole survivor.

Andrew Stenning/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Sadly, Paul had been drinking before getting behind the wheel and was driving at dangerously high speeds when the car slammed into the 13th pillar of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Wharfe is convinced that Diana could have survived if someone else had been driving.

”The one thing that would have saved Diana’s life that night would have been if they’d kicked out the chauffeur and for Rees-Jones to have driven,” he stated.

“But he couldn’t do that because he couldn’t speak to Dodi Fayed — he told him what to do. And that’s a shame, because had Rees-Jones taken that command, had he taken that decision to boot out Henri Paul, you and I would not be having this discussion.”

A fatal attempt to outsmart the paparazzi

Diana and Dodi’s original plan was to travel a short distance from the Ritz Hotel to an apartment near the Champs-Elysées. Another critical mistake that night was the lack of planning and coordination — or rather, the complete lack of coordination— with the local police regarding the car journey.

Wharfe believes the tragedy could have been prevented entirely if Dodi and Diana’s security team had worked with local police instead of shutting them out and viewing the press as “the enemy.”

In an effort to evade the press, they devised a plan using decoy cars. A Range Rover was positioned at the front entrance of the Ritz with Dodi’s usual driver behind the wheel, while Diana and Dodi secretly exited through the back in a black armored Mercedes.

Henri Paul — who was four times over the legal drinking limit in France — had been called in from home to drive them. The high-speed chase that followed ended in disaster, with the Mercedes crashing at over 60 mph.

The lack of a security team

Perhaps the most avoidable mistake, according to Wharfe, was Diana’s decision to dismiss her Scotland Yard security team. After separating from Prince Charles in 1992, she eventually let go of her royal protection.

Wharfe recalls urging Diana to reconsider just weeks before she cut ties with them. ”She said, ‘You’ve always been great with advice. If there’s one piece of advice you’d give me, what would it be?’”

His response was clear: “I urge you, I urge you, not to lose the Scotland Yard security because we have given you that freedom, we’ve broken rules to allow you to have the normality that you crave for, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue.”

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Despite his warning, Diana dismissed her entire security team just four weeks later. Wharfe firmly believes that had Queen Elizabeth insisted she keep them, Diana would have agreed.

”You cannot force security on somebody, they have to say ‘yes, I’ll take it’. But the fact that it wasn’t offered, this was her way of saying I want a new life.”

Diana’s death sent shockwaves across the globe, dominating headlines for weeks. While her funeral became a historic moment of mourning, the haunting images of her wrecked car remain etched in the minds of many.

More than two decades later, the debate over what could have saved Diana continues. But for Ken Wharfe, the answers are clear — three crucial decisions sealed her fate that night. Do you agree with him?

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