Exclusive

Chaz Bono's DWTS Pal: "He Represents a Big Community"

Exclusive! Season 13 contestant sounds off on recent controversy surrounding celeb spawn's casting on the show

By Brett Malec Sep 02, 2011 12:57 PMTags
Chaz BonoAlberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

We already know how Dancing With the Stars pro Lacey Schwimmer feels about the recent controversy surrounding partner Chaz Bono.

But what do Bono's fellow season 13 celeb contestants think about having him on the show?

"I'm so happy to be on this show with him," Elisabetta Canalis recently told us. "He represents a big community, so we need it on TV. We need to talk about it, we need to see people.

"He's very, very sweet," she added.

Meanwhile, Canalis says she and partner Val Chmerkovskiy have been practicing for "five or six hours a day."

"Some days I'm so tired and in pain that I can barely do three hours," she says. "It's very technical. You have to study, study, study."

And yes, Canalis is feeling the ballroom wear and tear.

"I go around with Band-Aids because it's hard to walk in shoes right after [practice]," says the Italian beauty. "Sometimes I have shoulder problems, because my shoulders are both dislocated since I was born. But it's OK—I pop it right back in."

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