‘It wasn’t easy’: Cher candidly discusses the difficulty surrounding her son’s transition from female to male in 2009
- The iconic singer, 74, revealed it ‘wasn’t easy’ when her son, Chaz Bono, transitioned from female to male in 2009
- Cher recalled listening to her son’s old voicemail which she found ‘very difficult’
- The actor, 51, went on to become the first transgender star to appear on Dancing With The Stars in 2011
- Cher confirmed Chaz is now ‘unbelievably happy’ and can’t understand why there is so much hostility surrounding the transgender movement
Cher admitted that ‘it wasn’t easy’ when her son, Chaz Bono, 51, transitioned from female to male in 2009.
The iconic singer, 74, remembered the extremely difficult moment when she called his answering machine and heard his old voice, during an interview with CNN on Thursday.
She also looked back on the light-bulb moment when she realised she hadn’t ‘lost’ her only child – previously known as Chastity – but that he had simply changed ‘shape’.
Honest: Cher admitted on Thursday that ‘it wasn’t easy’ when her son, Chaz Bono, 51, transitioned from female to male in 2009 (pictured in 2012)
Cher said of her initial struggle to accept Chaz’s transition: ‘It was very unlike me to, in the beginning, have a problem with Chaz being gay, and it disappeared like that.
‘Then we talked about [whether Chaz 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.”
‘But it wasn’t easy. I remember calling, and the old [voicemail] message was on the phone, and that was very difficult.’
She added that she didn’t ‘lose her child’ and that he now exists in ‘a different shape’.
Candid: During an interview with CNN, the iconic singer, 74, remembered the extremely difficult time she called his answering machine and heard his old voice
Her son Chaz is a successful writer and actor, he was also the first transgender star to appear on Dancing With The Stars in 2011.
He is currently in a relationship with former child star, Shara Blue Mathes, and is ‘unbelievably happy,’ according to his mother.
The singing sensation tried to rationalise other people’s hostility towards those who identity as transgender, citing fear and religion.
Nevertheless, she admitted she couldn’t understand why there is still such a closed discussion surrounding the movement.
Revelation: She also looked back on the light-bulb moment when she realised she hadn’t ‘lost’ her only child – previously known as Chastity – but that he had simply changed ‘shape’
A man of many talents: Her son is a successful writer and actor, he was also the first transgender star to appear on Dancing With The Stars in 2011
In 2011, Chaz opened up about his transition in a candid discussion with Oprah.
‘Life was always so much more difficult,’ he said of his existence before surgery.
‘Especially going into puberty, it felt like the expectations around me started to change or how I was supposed to act, but it also felt as if my body was literally betraying me.
‘I went from a very athletic, straight up and down little kid to a very curvaceous woman. It was just horrifying to me.’
The political activist confessed that his famous mother struggled to deal with the transition at first, but he always knew he was loved, regardless of his gender.
He continued: ‘The hard thing for my mom is that because she is a public figure and because she has this personality of being so cool about stuff and progressive, people forget that she’s a parent.
‘The truth is a lot of parents never speak to their transgender kids again. That’s not the case in my family. There’s no doubt about her love for me.
‘Now, everything is so easy and effortless,’ he added. ‘I feel like I’m on the same playing field as everybody else.’
Family first: The political activist and writer is currently in a relationship with former child star, Shara Blue Mathes (pictured far right), and is ‘unbelievably happy,’ according to his mother
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