Dancing With The Stars Season 13 Kicks Off Tonight

The thirteenth season of Dancing With The Stars premieres tonight with a fresh cast of victims participants including actor David Arquette, model Elisabetta Canalis, talk show host Ricki Lake (who has already injured herself), TV host Nancy Grace, soccer star Hope Solo, and reality show thing Robert Kardashian.

Less famous names enduring DWTS’s ritual humiliation include Wilson Phillips, singer Chynna Phillips, Italian TV personality Elisabetta Canalis (perhaps best known for her relationship with George Clooney), and a chap called Carson Kressley, who Wikipedia informs me is a “fashion expert.” So there you go.

The name on everybody’s lips, however, is smiley Chaz Bono (above), the one-time daughter of Cher, who underwent sex change surgery and is now her son. Only last week, Bono was keen to point out his involvement won’t mean your kids will be corrupted for ever. It’s pretty damn ridiculous that he had to even point this out, but there you go. Said Chaz:

“People who don’t have gender dysphoria aren’t going to catch it by watching me dance on television. I’m going to be dancing. I’m not up there talking about anything other than dancing.”

Er, apparently this is an issue for some people in a developed nation in 2011?

Anyway, tonight’s opening episode airs at 8pm on ABC, and will see the various celebrity hangers-on and desperadoes attempting the pasa doble, salsa, and other dance disciplines. Tom Bergeron is back to host.

So, who’s watching? And more importantly, which pair are you backing?