Yahoo Finance Cher opens up on son Chaz Bono's transition: 'It wasn't easy'
Cher has spoken about her son Chaz Bono’s gender identity, admitting that “it wasn’t easy” when he decided to transition.
The 74-year-old singer has been a supporter of the LGBTQ community throughout her life, but said that she struggled with her own child’s announcement about transitioning in 2009.
Before Bono’s transition, when he was known as Chastity and came out as a lesbian, Cher was surprised by her feelings.
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She told CNN: "It was very unlike me to – in the beginning – have a problem with Chaz being gay, and it disappeared like that.”
The star said she had talked to Bono, now 51, for years about whether he was transgender and for a long time he had said he didn’t want to transition, until eventually opting to start the procedure.
Cher said: "But it wasn't easy. I remember calling, and the old (voicemail) message was on the phone, and that was very difficult.
"But you don't really lose them. They just are in a different shape.”
Bono began his transition in 2008, announced it publicly in 2009, and completed it in 2010. He made a documentary film about the experience, Becoming Chaz, which premiered in 2011.
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Cher added that Bono, who became the first transgender person to compete on Dancing with the Stars, is now “unbelievably happy”.
Talking about her singing career, Cher revealed that her doctor had told her she had vocal cords comparable to a woman in her 20s.
However, she warned that the music she is currently recording “could be my last album”, explaining that “you never know when (your voice) is just going to go".
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