Dancing with the Stars

With her blonde octopus extensions in full effect, "Dancing with the Stars" pro Lacey Schwimmer left rehearsals on Thursday (left) rockin' a pair of interesting dungarees very similar to Jessica Simpson's infamous high-waisted mom jeans from 2009 (right).

The relationship they said would never last ... didn't last.

"Dancing with the Stars" pro Mark Ballas and "American Idol" hottie Pia Toscano have officially broken up ... according to People.com. The split is said to be "mutual."

Nancy Grace is perplexed that Ryan O'Neal dropped out of "Dancing with the Stars" because of her, telling TMZ, she never said anything bad about him.

Sources directly connected to Ryan tell us ... the actor was all set to do DWTS but dropped out because Nancy has said bad things about his son Redmond, who has had chronic drug problems, and also suggested he was a bad parent.

But Grace tells TMZ, "We have never covered Mr. O'Neal nor his family on our show," adding, "I hate that he dropped out of DWTS; I would have loved to compete with him and wish him the very best."

Grace says she considers O'Neal to be one of the great actors of our time and she finds his relationship with Farrah Fawcett "an inspiration to me."

Ryan O'Neal said he backed out of "Dancing with the Stars" because of a bad knee, but multiple sources connected with the show tell TMZ ... he REALLY backed out because he can't stand Nancy Grace.

Sources tell TMZ O'Neal feels Grace has been "disrespectful" to his family ... claiming she has gone after Redmond, who has had ongoing drug problems, and even suggested the reason Redmond is messed up is because Ryan is a bad parent.

Chaz Bono dancing the Cha Cha on TV ... in front of your kids ... will NOT make them want to have a sex change -- at least according to the American Psychiatric Association.

In a recent article, psychiatrist and former talk show host Dr. Keith Ablow suggested kids could develop Gender Identity Disorder (GID) just from watching Chaz on "Dancing With the Stars."

John M. Oldham, M.D. -- the APA President -- acknowledges GID is a psychiatric disorder ... but also told TMZ, "There is no evidence that viewing a television game show with a transgender contestant would induce Gender Identity Disorder in young people."

With the premiere of "Dancing With the Stars" a little over a week away, Chaz Bono hit up a local barbershop yesterday to get a haircut.

Ricki Lake is learning the hard way ... dancing HURTS -- and today she hobbled out of the "Dancing with the Stars" studio sporting one hell of a bruise on her shin.

Lake tweeted, "Not sure how my bruise turned into a medic showing up? I'm fine!!"

Our spies at "Dancing" tell us Ricki is actually one of the best dancers ... and judging from the nature of the injury, it looks like it won't cramp her style.

Moments ago, Lake explained her boo boo to TMZ ... saying, "I injured myself yesterday by hitting my heel into my shin ... I'm fine."

Chaz Bono will make a splash on "Dancing with the Stars," but people who have known her and him well tell TMZ ... it may be more like a belly flop.

Our sources say ... as a woman Chaz had NO rhythm, and there's no evidence any of Chaz' recent changes improved the situation.

The people we spoke with were very surprised Chaz agreed to the DWTS gig, but say it's more about making a statement than the dancing itself.

On the bright side, our DWTS spies tell us Chaz is well-liked among the professional dancers and contestants -- "a very cool dude," one source says.

Cher's rep is taking issue with a TMZ story, in which we said she's going to show up for at least one taping of "Dancing with the Stars" ... but we know that is precisely her plan.

Cher's rep, Liz Rosenberg, is saying Cher supports Chaz but has no plans to be at the show.

But here's the deal -- Cher's friends say that's not what the singer is saying. Cher says she will indeed be at one of the tapings but doesn't want to make a big spectacle in advance, and that's why she won't say which day she'll show up to support her son.

Cher will make a surprise appearance on "Dancing with the Stars" to support her son, Chaz Bono ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with both Cher and Chaz tell TMZ ... the criticism over a transgender contestant has given Cher even more resolve to stand behind Chaz.

Cher is not saying which day she'll show up, but has made it clear she will be in the audience for at least one show.

And, we're told, Cher's motive is NOT to drive votes for her son -- rather to make a statement of support and a statement against what she considers to be bigotry.

Chaz Bono believes his stint on "Dancing with the Stars" will have a "positive impact on kids with gender dysphoria" -- and says it's "crazy" that people are boycotting the show.

Chaz appeared on "Good Morning America" and told George Stephanopoulos, "When I was growing up, if I would have seen someone like me on a show like this, it would have made all the difference in the world."

In the end, Chaz says he's just "a regular guy."

Gloria Allred and a famed lesbian rights activist will hold a news conference Monday to protest people who are urging children not to watch Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars."

We're told there will be dance and viewing parties across the country with transgender individuals and their supporters on September 19 -- the night of Chaz's debut -- and Gloria will dance with every transgender person who wants to dance with her -- but only at the L.A. party.

The news conference will be held at Gloria's office at 10:30 AM PT. Of course, we'll nutbush (a form of line dancing) right over there.

11:20 AM: Gloria and lesbian rights activist Robin Tyler just announced their pro-Bono dance and viewing parties later this month -- where Gloria promises to show off her moves -- but sadly ... she refused to give us a preview.

Rob Kardashian has a nasty case of pre-dance jitters -- and it's starting to piss off his "Dancing with the Stars" partner.

Sources close to the show tell us Rob is very nervous and has refused to rehearse longer than 2 hours with Cheryl Burke -- while most of the contestants are logging more than 5 hour practices.

We're told Cheryl is "fed up" with what she perceives to be Rob's lack of interest in the show.

But Rob is still talking a big game ... because we're told he's bragging constantly to big sis Kim that he will top her 'DWTS' performance by making it past week 3.

Note to Rob: You don't have Kim's "assets." Get to practice.

Chaz Bono is sporting a massive grin in his, just released, official "Dancing With the Stars" photo -- and maybe that's because dude also has a right hand FULL of Lacey Schwimmer's ass.

Chaz Bono has already lost 5 pounds rehearsing for "Dancing with the Stars," but he's upset because he feels all the crappy junk food -- courtesy of producers -- is thwarting his diet.

As for the food that's pissing off the freshly-minted man ... chips, candy, granola and protein bars.

We're told Chaz has already made very specific food demands to producers.

Chaz Bono has triggered predictable controversy after signing on to do "Dancing with the Stars" -- just as producers hoped. So what will be the fallout? We gotta ask ...