Cher shares her thoughtful approach to writing about her transgender son, Chaz Bono, in her new memoir, saying she got his “blessing” to use his deadname, Chastity.
“I refer to my son Chaz as Chas, the name he went by during the years covered in this book,” the “Believe” singer writes in a note at the beginning of “Cher: The Memoir, Part One” (per the New York Times).
“Chaz has granted his blessing for this usage,” she shares. “In the next volume, at the appropriate point, I will refer to my son as Chaz.”
Bono, whom Cher shared with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono, famously began his transition in 2008 and legally changed his name and gender in 2010.
The “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer, 78, has admitted that it was a big adjustment for her.
“It wasn’t easy,” she told CNN in 2020. “I remember calling, and the old [voicemail] message … was on the phone, and that was very difficult.”
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However, Cher, who has been an icon to LGBTQIA+ community for decades, ultimately came around.
“You don’t really lose them. They just are in a different shape,” she explained during the interview, adding that she was “so unbelievably happy” for Chaz, now 55.
The first part of the Goddess of Pop’s memoir hits bookstores Tuesday, tracing her childhood, marriage to Sonny, who died in 1998, and early music career.
HarperCollins Publishers previously said the second volume was expected sometime in 2025, but Cher confessed to the Times that she has not even started writing it yet.
“[Part one] exhausted me,” she said in Sunday’s profile. “It took a lot out of me.”
The “Moonstruck” star is also the mother of son Elijah Blue Allman, whom she welcomed with her second husband, Gregg Allman.
English (US) ·