LOS ANGELES, CA – There has been much controversy over Chaz Bono being a contestant on the upcoming season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”. Bono, the son of Cher, will be the first transsexual contestant on the show, a casting choice that has been both applauded and derided.

Show regular Lacey Schwimmer, who will be Chaz’s dance partner, is not happy about the criticism the show has received over choosing Bono as one of the contestants.

“It’s disappointing,” Lacey told TheInsider.com of the negative reactions. “No human is perfect, so why are they pointing out what they perceive to be an imperfection in someone els

e? It’s not cool. We’re all taught to not bully, or harass, and treat everyone as equals, yet all these people are doing exactly the opposite.” Luckily for Lacey and Chaz, the supportive sounds are drowning out the negative noise. “At the end of the day, everyone is going to have a hater. I choose not to listen to it, because it’s ridiculous. To us, it’s more important to focus on the positive people.”

For Lacey, finding out that Chaz would be her season 13 partner was the best kind of news. “I was absolutely thrilled. I’ve always been a huge supporter of the LGBT community and I couldn’t be more excited to have Chaz. Not only is he Sonny & Cher’s child, but he’s also a generally cool person.” And while producers didn’t ask Lacey’s permission to pair her with Chaz, she believes they knew it was an unnecessary conversation.

“This is my sixth season — the producers know that I’m very open-minded and really accepting of everyone,” Schwimmer said. “Ever since Lance [Bass] was on the show, it opened the door for the LGBT community to be accepted in Middle America and it’s about time. It’s 2011, let’s evolve a little bit here.”