'DWTS' producer: Give Chaz Bono a chance to dance (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Thu Sep 1, 10:00 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – ""Dancing With the Stars" executive producer Conrad Green says despite controversy over the casting of its first transgender contestant, "Dancing" remains a family show and viewers should check out the new season before passing judgment.

Chaz Bono, who was born female but underwent surgery to become a man, is among the cast of 12 celebrities set to appear on the ABC hit when it premieres later this month — a decision that's drawn ire from some "Dancing" fans and conservative media groups.

Dan Gainor of the Culture and Media Institute calls Bono's casting "a ridiculous, agenda-driven move by `Dancing With the Stars.'"

"This is the latest example of the networks trying to push a sexual agenda on American families," he said Thursday.

The organization is not calling for a boycott of the show, but online group OneMillionMoms.com is. It says on its website that the casting of Bono and openly-gay reality star Carson Kressley "is completely unacceptable and Christians should not watch the show, no excuses!"

Besides Bono and Kressley, the new cast includes basketball star Ron Artest; World Cup soccer player Hope Solo; reality stars Robert Kardashian and Kristin Cavallari; TV personalities Nancy Grace and Ricki Lake; singer-actress Chynna Phillips; actors David Arquette and J.R. Martinez; and Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, who may be better known in the United States for being George Clooney's ex-girlfriend.

Green says the show has no agenda other than entertainment and always seeks to represent a range of people.

"I think we've had three gay or transgender contestants out of about 120 on the show, so what we're really doing is reflecting some of the makeup of this vast array of people that make up American society," he said in an interview Thursday.

The show remains family friendly, he said, adding that he has young children of his own.

"We're not going to be dwelling on Chaz's sexuality any more than we dwell on anyone's sexuality on the show," he said. "We're not going to be going into things that are going to make it difficult for you to watch with your children at all."

Bono wasn't cast to stir controversy, but because he's "a great guy and he's got a really interesting story," Green said. "He comes from Hollywood royalty as a family and is familiar to loads of our audience throughout his life."

Green said no sponsors of the show have expressed concern over Bono's casting and he doesn't expect that any will. He noted that Bono has been "on every talk show in the country," including "Oprah," without backlash.

Bono is the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono.

Cher has taken to Twitter this week to blast the "stupid bigots" who she says have "viciously attacked" her son since the "Dancing" cast was announced on Monday. She praised his courage for appearing on the show and wrote: "bet VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on DWTS !"

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the network and "Dancing" producers for casting Bono. Spokeswoman Sharda Sekaran said that despite some negative response, his appearance on the show may help foster better understanding about transgender people.

"This community faces a lot of misunderstanding, fear and hatred, and all too often, violence," she said. "But these are people just like anybody else, who are part of everyday things as normal as entertaining audiences on a dancing show.

"Even with the negative reaction, it gives people exposure and access to the story of a real-life transgender person."

Bono said on his Twitter page Thursday that he is "overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I received from everyone."

"I don't listen to the haters, but embrace the love," he wrote.

Green said Bono's casting and the resulting conversation has boosted awareness of the show, but he hopes dancing supplants controversy when the show premieres on Sept. 19: "I hope that a lot of the people who appear to be upset at the moment will give him a chance and maybe realize it's not quite as bad as they think."

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at www.twitter.com/APSandy.

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Online:

www.twitter.com/ChazBono

www.twitter.com/Cher

www.onemillionmoms.com

http://www.mrc.org/cmi/

www.glaad.org

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

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Soundgarden reunion fell into place by chance (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As rock'n'roll reunions go, the current reemergence of Soundgarden after a 13-year split is sadly short of salacious intrigue.

The four members of the hard rock band, working on a new album and preparing to begin a monthlong North American tour in July, did not have to complete prison terms or rehab stints.

And, despite a report in the satirical newspaper The Onion, lead guitarist Kim Thayil was not working as a daytime supervisor at a Cinnabon baked-goods store.

Thayil, 50, who did indeed keep a low profile after the band fell apart in 1997 amid internal tensions, told Reuters on Friday that the foursome remained good friends.

They frequently saw each other socially in their Seattle hometown, including at bars, concerts and each others' homes.

"Any acrimony was toward the band as a collective, not toward any individual," he said. "We're just too interconnected, going back to the '80s with so many mutual friends and family in common."

Still, with singer Chris Cornell pursuing an intermittent solo career and drummer Matt Cameron firmly ensconced in Pearl Jam, any chance of a reunion by one of the biggest bands of the 1990s "grunge" era seemed remote.

Cornell inadvertently dropped the first hint on the first day of 2010 when his cryptic tweet about the relaunch of the band's website and merchandising efforts was misinterpreted as a reunion announcement. Thayil was inundated with calls from people who had read frenzied news reports on the Internet.

MOM, WE'RE NOT REUNITING!

"I spent a lot of time on the phone with my mom," Thayil recalled. "'Are you going to believe what someone told you they saw on the Internet? Or are you going to believe what your son told you? ... We're not back together.'"

Still, Soundgarden's belated move to fix its woefully neglected online presence generated interest from concert promoters. The band accepted some of their offers, and accordingly started dusting off its old songs in rehearsals around March 2010. It played a handful of shows last year including the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.

"There never was a time when we said, 'Hey we're a band again'," Thayil said. "(But) I think some time last fall ... we realized we're doing all the things that a band does now, not just designing a website."

That was about the time that the band, at Cameron's behest, entered the studio to turn the new song fragments generated during rehearsals into material for its first new album since 1996's "Down on the Upside." Thayil said the songs are in various stages of completion, with all members contributing ideas. The lineup is rounded out by bassist Ben Shepherd.

Soundgarden has a deal with the successor company to its old A&M Records label, but it is unlikely the album will come out this year.

"If we were to say, 'Let's get this record out by the fall', I think it would put a lot of pressure on us and the quality would at some point suffer," Thayil said. "And the more we enjoy it, the more our fans should end up enjoying it."

Meanwhile, the North American tour kicks off in Toronto on July 2. A fall leg is probable, Thayil said, and the band is drawing up a "wish list" of international dates.

Beyond that, the future is uncertain especially since Cameron's commitments to Pearl Jam take priority, and Cornell also has solo interests, Thayil said. That's fine with him.

"The band is definitely handling its career situation in a lot freer way than it did before," he said. "The way we're doing it is diminished pressure for us. Probably consequently, maybe it's diminished expectation!"

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

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