“Dancing with the Stars” ballroom professional Louis van Amstel is urging fans of the show to move beyond the controversy surrounding the casting of Cher’s son, Chaz Bono, and give the activist a chance to win them over through his ballroom moves.
”‘Dancing with the Stars’ is a great part of his journey because he can now feel more masculine from within, so I think that’s great for him,” Louis told AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman during an interview on Thursday.
Van Amstel, who has danced with a number of headline-raising castmates, including Kelly Osbourne, Kendra Wilkinson, Priscilla Presley and Margaret Cho, said he isn’t surprised that producers chose to cast the transgender activist.
“I don’t think it’s very shocking,” Van Amstel said. “I think what ABC is doing, they change where the world is going, the world is opening up, and especially in Chaz Bono’s case, he doesn’t shove it in people’s faces, he is just living his life.”
The former Emmy nominee for choreography said there are a few other cast members he wants America to judge on just their moves.
“Carson Kressley — I think he’s gonna be hilarious. Probably people think he’s flamboyant, he’s over the top. No, he’s not. He’s just being Carson,” Van Amstel said. “And Nancy Grace, there are people that hate Nancy Grace and in the end, Nancy Grace is doing her job, she’s a prosecutor and she’s ‘Bang! Bang!’ Maybe this will soften her up.
“Wait ‘til you see them dance,” he added. “Judge [them] on their dancing the personality, not for what they choose for them in life. Stop labeling.”
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.