Kathy Griffin Happy for Pal Lance Bass  7/30/06

Comedienne Kathy Griffin has saluted pal Lance Bass for 'coming out' as a homosexual after spending months keeping the singer's gay life a secret.

Griffin, who makes her living attacking celebrities, decided not to poke fun at the former 'N SYNC star onstage during her stand-up comedy routine - even though she has known Bass' secret for some time.

She says, "I've known that Lance is gay forever. It's no big deal. He had really been hounded quite a bit and he's in a relationship and wanted to be able to go hang out with this person.

"I know that it's important for Lance to not only reach out to the gay community because he also has many heterosexual friends. I know that it's important to him to keep that mix going in his life."

Bass is a longtime friend of Griffin's and even appeared in her reality US TV show My Life on the D-List.