Chaz Bono Won't Back Off, Says 'America Really Needs to See This'

LGBT activist Chaz Bono has broken his silence and for the first time is speaking against critics who do not support Bono's participation in the ABC reality show Dancing With the Stars upcoming season.

The show is scheduled to be premiered on September 19 on ABC.

It's made me realize I'm really glad I'm doing this, because America really needs to see this, Bono told ABC News outside a Los Angeles theater. Bono is a female-to-male transgender who legally changed his gender last year and is the only son of Cher and Sonny Bono, both american entertainers, though they have children from other relationships too.

Dancing with the Stars is a hit reality show on ABC and Bono was selected by the show's producers to be one of the 12 celebrity casts to appear in the show's 13^th season. What has drawn the attention of the critics along with conservative media groups is Bono partnering with a female dancer.

We will not be able to watch the show with Chaz on there. This is going to be very confusing for children, and should not be included in their cast, Monica Cole, director of OneMillionMoms.com told Inside Edition on Wednesday.

The group wants to boycott the show and says that Christians should not watch the show.

Bono has previously written books on his encounter with the discovery of his own sexuality and coming out to his family and now he says that the ongoing controversy inspires him all over again to share the truth of the transgender people. He is engaged to his longtime love Jennifer Elia.

You know, it just kind of shows why for me it's important to be on the show, because so little still is known about what it means to be transgender. And there's so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have, he told ABC News.

Bono's adviser Howard Bragman told GMA that watching Chaz Bonor dance on TV is not going to make anyone's kid transgender. Whereas, kids with gender issues who have a high suicidal tendency could be possibly motivated seeing a role model like Chaz, and this could save lives. He added that Bono is not going to back off.