On Monday, Anderson Cooper “came out” in the one of the best ways I’ve ever seen – he did it in a low-key open post/email to The Daily Beast’s (gay) journalist Andrew Sullivan. Anderson explained himself and his reasons for not publicly acknowledging or verifying his homosexuality before now, and why he made the decision to say something publicly now. His open letter was exceptionally well-written, emotional, cathartic and beautiful. I was really proud of him, truly. I know that’s a weird thing to say about a man I’ve never met, but I just like that Anderson “came out” on his own terms, when he felt the time was right, and in his own way. And for the “right” reasons too. Anyway, Anderson’s sometimes-BFF and official New Year’s Eve Co-Star Kathy Griffin wrote an “open letter” response to Anderson’s coming out party in (where else?) The Daily Beast. You know what? I love Kathy. And I think her essay is also exceptionally well-written, and I like the way she discusses the history of the gay rights movement. Here is her essay in full:

My friend Anderson Cooper is the scion of one of America’s great shipping and railroad families, the Vanderbilts. He’s covered the military coup and eventual unseating of the democratically elected (albeit bat-shit crazy) Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He’s covered the small wars in Africa that use children as slave soldiers. He knows more about the women of The Real Housewives than perhaps even I do. He’s covered the seemingly endless large wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And by “covered,” I mean he’s really gone and covered them—with a security detail and without; embedded with troops and unilaterally—not from the relative safety of the Green Zone in Baghdad or the international zone in Kabul. He’s sat down with despots in countries like Somalia, covered the atrocities in the Balkans and Burma. And he also happens to be gay.

Funny thing, that … Kicking around for as many years as I have, I’ve done countless interviews pushing Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, stand-up comedy specials, live comedy dates, the Kathy show, and everything in between. I’ve talked to everyone from a local gay blogger to Time magazine. I’m not really sure at what point it changed, but the press—or at least the press who covered my little carnival—became fixated on Anderson’s orientation. And for years, I talked around it.

Believe it or not, I don’t “out” people. It is neither my business nor my desire. Remember, folks, I am a comedian, not a journalist. These weren’t questions where I could make a joke about Ryan Seacrest getting a mani/pedi. This isn’t a joke I make about whether Oprah and Gayle are gay lovers. I have no idea if Oprah and Gayle are gay lovers. I doubt they are, but as a comedian, I find some comedy in picturing those two girls running the world as a power couple. Anderson is someone who has led a very specific kind of professional life, who never talked and simultaneously exhibited social contradictions. And quite frankly, he never gave me permission to speak about something that represented the one part of his life he was not comfortable having confirmed in the media. But in my dealings with a certain sector of the press, that simply was never good enough.

So while I’ve tried to protect my friend and represent him the way he would most prefer, I was never exactly clear on just how to do it, how to say it. One year, while in the middle of doing several interviews to promote New Year’s Eve Live on CNN, I had a discussion with Anderson about it. “For Christ’s sake, Anderson, I’ve been getting asked as much about your sexuality as I have about my own show!” I said.

He said: “Kathy, I don’t get asked as much about my sexuality as you get asked about my sexuality. But here’s my standard party line: ‘I want to report the news. I don’t want to be the news.’”

I recently read an article that quoted a gay Army officer friend of mine saying how freeing on so many levels the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has been, that he and his now legally married husband might someday finally adopt and begin a family. The “ethical nonstarter” of having to teach a child to lie so that she might protect her fathers was no longer even a glancing consideration. Well, there is an unspoken kind of DADT among the press, and Anderson’s party line only revealed part of it.
The reality is that despite the very real, the very necessary, and the very life-changing progress we have made in this country in treating people across the sexual orientation spectrum with dignity and respect, America—the world—is not fully represented by Chelsea in New York City. It’s not fully represented by DuPont Circle in Washington, D.C.; the Castro; or West Hollywood. Hell, it’s not even Ft. Lauderdale and its Wilton Manors or Denver’s Capital Hill neighborhood. America is, in large part, small towns like Oxnard, Calif. It’s Sevierville, Tenn. It’s Laramie, Wyo. And it’s Wichita, Kan., where I was eating recently at a local diner and a patron asked me, “Kathy, how do you deal with so many goddamned f-gs?”

Many of my young gays don’t know about Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” initiative, which was developed with the help of some extremist American evangelicals. Many don’t know about Stonewall or, more recently, the importance of Lawrence v. Texas. They don’t know about Cuba’s jailing of HIV patients or even that Iran has sentenced gay teenagers to death by hanging. They don’t know that in large portions of Baghdad, honest LGBT folks are hunted and summarily executed by roving bands of so-called morality police, who kill with impunity both the “out” and those simply perceived to be gay. What many young people do know is what they read in short bursts on celebrity Twitter posts or on TMZ. And what they read and see is how freeing being honest can be. What they don’t see is that it remains, in many places, very dangerous to do just that. And that dichotomy is deeply troubling to me.

Look, I’m a comedian. Anderson reports on the world’s toughest stories. He speaks truth to power. I, on the other hand, make fun of the spectacularly silly world of reality television and Hollywood’s fame whores (and those who love them). I don’t pretend to understand the complexities of the worlds Anderson moves in. But I do know that I don’t want my friend to face that part of the world, where he might die a very different kind of death than someone who isn’t quite so honest.

Anderson writes: “I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something—something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed, or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.”

Here’s the thing: I love my friend Anderson and remain immensely proud of him. And I’m honored, truly, that he considers me a friend. But I just want him to be careful. Of course he wouldn’t be doing his job if he really were being careful. And he wouldn’t be who he is.

[From The Daily Beast]

I think she’s basically saying that she never outed him because she loves him very deeply and she worries that one of these days he’s going to fly into one of these countries and he’ll be killed because people think/know he’s gay. Which is a genuine concern, and it sucks that it’s a genuine concern. Still, I love Kathy for bringing “the real”.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

My immediate reaction to that is “he can smother me any day,” but I know how it is when a guy gets too clingy, even if they’re drop dead gorgeous and they smell really good. According to the National Enquirer (I know!) Kathy Griffin, 50, has dumped 13 years younger Old Spice hunk Isaiah Mustafa when he wanted a real relationship and she was just too busy to deal with it. When Mustafa showed up on the set of Glee to surprise Kathy during her guest appearance, that’s when she got spooked and decided to set him free. She’ll have her hookups without complications, thank you.

“Kathy really liked spending time with Isaiah, but it got to be too much and she felt smothered,” a close pal revealed. “The bottom line is that she’s too busy to date anyone seriously – even a sexy, younger guy like Isaiah.

Griffin, 50, and the muscular 37 year-old former pro football player started their short-lived romance in February when they attended the Costume Designers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills as a couple.

A few weeks later, Isaiah surprised Kathy with a visit to the set of “Glee” while she filmed a cameo.

“She started getting cold feet when he showed up at ‘Glee,’” says the friend. “That’s when she realized that he was moving too fast.

“Kathy thrived on dating a gorgeous guy, but she wants her freedom.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, April 18, 2011]

Isaiah called Kathy “amazing“ and “a force of nature” last month, and while he insisted he’s a “single man” I think we can assume that he’s experienced Kathy’s force of nature firsthand more than once. Good for Kathy for getting hers and moving on. And the good news is that the Old Spice guy is single, hurray! Even if the end of their relationship didn’t go down this way, it’s just like Kathy to spin it in her favor. I kind of admire her. Did you see those bikini pics where she’s looking ghostly though? Those cracked me up. Makeup makes all the difference in the world doesn’t it?

Say what you will about smack-talking funny girl Kathy Griffin, she’s getting the last laugh after her public feud with mama bear Sarah Palin. Kathy, 50, is probably boning the guy we all wish our guys looked smelled like, Old Spice hottie Isaiah Mustafa, 37. We’ve heard rumors that these two are hitting it, and now Isaiah tells US he thinks Kathy is “amazing” and “a force of nature” but adds that he’s single. Maybe he’s contractually obligated to say that by Old Spice so we can still fantasize about him lathering up in our shower while showering us with diamonds.

Isaiah Mustafa — a.k.a. the Old Spice Guy — was coy with UsMagazine.com on Monday about his rumored romance with comedienne Kathy Griffin.

“I think she is amazing!” Mustafa, 37, told Us at Cosmopolitan mag’s Fun Fearless Males of 2011 bash in NYC.

“I think she’s a force of nature. And she’s on Broadway, so if you get a chance, go check her out!”

“But,” Mustafa insisted, “I just happen to be a single man!”

Still, a source told Us last month that Mustafa and Griffin, 50, “are not boyfriend/girlfriend, but they are definitely spending time together and getting to know each other.” The duo began seeing each other several months ago, and were caught canoodling between takes on the set of Glee Feb. 23.)

On Mustafa’s list of requirements in a woman? “I’m looking for someone who’s respectful of my needs because I’m always respectful of the lady’s needs, and that’s pretty much the bottom line.”

He added: “I like brunettes. I like red-heads or gingers. I like blonds!”

The sexy rising star did fess up to bizarre requests from fans of his hit commercials — who’ve demanded he take his “shirt off, strap on a saddle, all sorts of stuff!”

[From US Weekly]

See, he’s acting like he’s not with Kathy and likes all kinds of women so that we’ll continue to imagine him taking us to that thing we love and rubbing our feet afterwards. It’s more of a fantasy for me to think that Kathy scored him, though. It means that there are hunks who don’t take themselves seriously who go for older women who make them laugh. If only he would admit to it. At least he said a bunch of nice things about her. And if they aren’t anything more than friends, the way he handled that question was so gracious.

Mustafa is shown on 3/7, 2/25/11 and 8/21/10. Credit: WENN.com

Kathy Griffin loves to talk smack about people, and she’s a comedian so it’s part of her job. She gets a kick out of it, and sometimes she crosses a line but usually she seems to know exactly what she’s doing. Hence she goes after Sarah Palin and her family, because Palin is incredibly predictable and can be counted on to humorlessly respond. That’s exactly what she did when Griffin joked that she was going to take 16 year-old Willow, Sarah’s daughter, down. Remember how Sarah said that David Letterman was joking about statutory rape when he accidentally made a joke about Willow? Rinse and repeat.

Sarah Palin grew agitated when Fox News correspondent Jeanine Pirro asked her thoughts about Kathy Griffin playing a character loosely based on her on an upcoming episode of Glee.

“You know, Kathy Griffin can do anything to me or say anything about me, because you know, she’s kind of this – she’s a 50-year-old adult bully is really what she is,” Palin said over the weekend (via Huffington Post).

“She’s kind of a has-been comedian and she can do those things to me. I would just ask for respect of my children. As she had stated on CNN that her New Year’s resolution was to destroy my 16-year-old daughter, that takes it a little too far,” Palin continued.

“Kathy, pick on me, come up to Alaska and pick on me, but leave my kids alone,” she went on.
Griffin has skewered the Palin family in her comedy routines over the past two years, calling Bristol the “the White Precious,” and joking that Levi Johnston (who fathered a baby with a teen Bristol) is her boyfriend.

The family has fought back before; in February, Bristol brought up Griffin’s near-fatal liposuction experience and criticized her as a comedian in an interview with Fox News.

[From Hollywood Reporter]

Why so serious, Sarah? My mom taught me not to let people know if they bothered me, and to act like I couldn’t care less what they say. Then again, my mom was showing me how to let arguments die on their own, not how to get press coverage. With the Palins, it’s all about how much we talk about them and Kathy loves goading Sarah into her default setting – mad and acting like people are out to attack her family.

Oh and Kathy explained to the Hollywood Reporter why she wanted to “offend a new Palin.” She said that Willow had “called people a fa–ot on Facebook a couple of times. You don’t throw around the f-word without hearing from me about it.” Here’s more of what Willow wrote, which no one from the Palin family has apologized for.

Kathy is shown on 2/22 and on 2/15, where she wore some lingerie to Paris Hilton’s 30th birthday party. Credit: WENN

Funnygirl Kathy Griffin, 50, may have scored the guy we all wish our man could be, Old Spice hottie Isaiah Mustafa, 37. She tweeted a photo of the two of them together a few months ago, an things may have heated up since, although Isiah’s rep says they’re “just friends.” Is that “with benefits” because you know Kathy would love to break off a piece of that. Hell just about any woman would.

A source tells me that Griffin and Mustafa first met months ago. Maybe it was back in August at the Creative Arts Emmys, where they did a joint interview on the red carpet with our own Kristin Dos Santos? Not longer after that, Griffin tweeted a pic of the two of them with the post reading, “A gift from me 2 u. Here I am with the super hot Old Spice Guy. Feel free to photoshop ur face over mine.”

Our source says they started spending more time together within the last month or so. The source wouldn’t describe the relationship as “romantic,” but says, “They’re getting to know each other.”

Mustafa’s rep tells me, “Isaiah said they are just good friends and have a blast hanging out.” The former football player was most recently linked to Scream star Neve Campbell.

Mustafa was not only spotted at Griffin’s Trevor Project benefit concert in L.A. in December, but the two were also together earlier this month at Cher’s final performance of her Las Vegas show. I actually saw them at the Sin City airport the following morning hopping on a flight back to L.A.

Mustafa was also with Griffin at the Grammys last week. Then last night, they were spotted sitting together and chatting at the Costume Designer Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

[From E! Online]

I think Kathy is hysterical and I don’t know much about the Old Spice guy other than an interview or two I’ve watched with him, but he seems down to earth and like a decent guy. As E! mentioned he was last linked to Neve Campbell but that was a couple of months ago. If these two are going to the airport together they’re probably more than just friends. For Kathy’s sake I hope this is happening and good for her!

This interview is from last August:

Bristol Palin, 20, was on E! News last night to presumably promote her upcoming memoir, which is out this summer. Bristol and her two year-old Tripp gave E!’s Giuliana Rancic a tour of her new house in Maricopa, Arizona, which she paid $172k cash for and found online. The house was sparsely furnished without any pictures on the wall and just a few decorations, but it looked big and open. It has five bedrooms and two and half baths. Bristol talked about how good it feels to own a home at the age of 20 and said that Tripp calls her mom Sarah “nana” instead of “grandma.”

The room with the most decorations and personal touches was Bristol’s bedroom, which was in a tasteful contemporary style and included a photo on her nightstand of her boyfriend Gino after he’d just bagged a deer. I sh*t you not. She had some animal print furniture in the living room but it wasn’t overdone and didn’t look tacky or anything. Her house was pretty bare overall.

Bristol also has an elliptical machine in her house and she looked like she’d lost weight since Dancing with The Stars ended.

On E! she didn’t say much of interest and mostly showed the house, but they have more from Bristol on their website, including Bristol’s denial that she was disinvited from that speaking gig at Washington University after students objected. She also trashed Kathy Griffin, who made some pot shots at her expensee during a comedy show entertaining the troops last month.

On how she was never disinvited because she didn’t confirm
Luckily, in the meantime she has a lucrative career in speech-giving to fall back on. Er, when they’re not canceled, that is. And about that…

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?’ ‘Cause I never committed to it. So I couldn’t be uninvited or cut off as a speaker. But it was really strange,” she said of her Washington University in St. Louis brouhaha. “It was definitely politically motivated…I never wanted to do it really.

“I feel like I am being pushed around, but I know that I am strong enough to handle it. So if they are going to pick on me, then so be it, but I just hope they don’t do that to other people.”

On how she felt about Kathy saying Bristol had gained weight on DWTS
“It didn’t [hurt my feelings] because it was coming from Kathy Griffin of all people, and I think it just shows her immaturity. I don’t think that stuff’s funny at all. Just very strange.”

Still, Bristol can not only take it, she can dish it as well.

“She has a weird hate for our family, just like her coming to Alaska and knocking on our front door. And it’s weird, also, that she would pick on my weight. She’s had botched liposuction procedures and stuff like that, so…It’s just weird that she would pick on something like that for another woman.”

Bristol went on to say that she’s never met Kathy and would like to keep it that way.

“I think she would just not be an enjoyable individual to be around at all.” Still, like any good Christian, Bristol said she would be willing to accept an apology should Griffin offer it.

“She’s never going to, but yes, I would accept it,” Bristol said.

[From E! Online]

So Bristol is saying that she never was really scheduled to do that gig, but that she was still being pushed around and picked on. Then she goes on to say that Kathy Griffin has it out for her family and that Kathy had botched lipo so she shouldn’t be talking smack about her. This is pretty much how her mom handles detractors too.

According to E!, Bristol has an offer to host a morning radio show in Arizona.

Here’s a segment that did not air on E! last night where Bristol talks about her new boyfriend. They’re going to air more of her interview tonight on E! News.

I used to watch Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List in the first seasons. Actually, I think the only season I didn’t pay much attention to was last season. It’s hard for Kathy to still claim she’s on the D-List when she’s winning Emmys and hosting New Year’s celebrations with Anderson Cooper. So, maybe she’s C-List now. Or B-List, even. Thus, Kathy is cancelling her show, as she just announced to People Magazine. She’s predictably funny about it too, comparing herself to Kate Gosselin:

Kathy Griffin is off the D-list. The comedian is ending the six season – and Emmy Award-winning – run of her hit Bravo show, My Life on the D-List, she tells PEOPLE.

“It was a really tough decision because I think of the D-List as pretty much my baby for the last six seasons and I also think it was really time to stop doing it,” Griffin, 50, says by phone from L.A. “Reality is great, but I really didn’t set out to be a reality star. So now it’s time to spread my wings and show that I’m a little different than Kate Gosselin.”

“I’m not saying better,” she says, laughing, “but maybe separate myself from the pack a little bit.”

Not that Griffin is leaving Bravo. In fact, the network has enlisted her for four brand-new comedy specials, which will air quarterly in 2011.

“There is no better way to start off 2011 than giving Kathy Griffin an unprecedented four new stand-up comedy specials on Bravo in one year,” network executive Andy Cohen said Wednesday in a statement. “Kathy’s quick fire humor and ability to tap into pop culture make for must watch television.”

And Griffin is happy to hit the road for the network. “I just cannot get enough or do enough stand-up,” she says. “And there’s so much fun stuff going on – from Oprah’s launch of [cable network] OWN … not to mention the new Paula Abdul show [Live to Dance] or who knows what celebrity run-in I’ve had myself.”

And, with the first special possibly taping in Milwaukee in early February, Griffin promises to keep her jokes fresh.

“[I'm] trying to keep the material as up to the minute as possible,” she says. “Audiences know when they come to see me live, they’re going to see new stuff. [And] as long as there’s a show called My Strange Addiction about a woman who only eats toilet paper … then I have to do stand up.”

In addition to the stand-up specials, Griffin hopes to make a return to sitcoms in the future with an improvised series – think Curb Your Enthusiasm – that involves, according to the comedian, “some characters from the D-List that you’ve come to love, and then maybe I’ll have actors play a couple other characters that are from my real life.”

And Griffin, who is a People’s Choice Award nominee, has her sights on nabbing her first-ever Grammy Award at Feb. 13′s ceremony. “First of all, I just want to win,” she says of her best comedy album nod. “I have no deep answer for that. I just want to.”

“Second of all,” she continues, “only two women [comedians] have won in the history of the Grammys: Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg. So I certainly would like it to go to a woman this year. A woman named Kathy Griffin. Perhaps you’ve heard of her?”

[From People]

That’s nice that she’s getting an unprecedented four comedy specials – those are always really good, and her standup act always amuses me. Watching it is like gossiping with a friend. She always has funny stories, and she always tells them in a great way.

By the way, was anyone else relatively sober and watching CNN on New Year’s? She and Anderson Cooper were particularly hilarious together. You put the two of them in front of a camera together, and they could riff off of each other for days. Now THAT is a comedy special I would like to see.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

When I was growing up, my parents taught me to ignore other kids who bothered me, as long as it wasn’t serious. We teach our son not to get involved with teasing, not to let it get to him and to tell the teacher when necessary. It’s clear the Palin family doesn’t use that common strategy, because they’re quick to fire back responses that show just how much comments can get under their skin. Case in point: Bristol’s latest statement about a stupid and arguably mean joke that Kathy Griffin made about her weight. While entertaining the troops on Friday, Griffin said that Bristol was “the only contestant in the history of [DWTS] to actually gain weight… she gained like 30 pounds a week… she’s like the white Precious.” The servicemen and women booed Griffin, and that should have been enough. Instead, the Palin camp has issued yet another statement.

Just yesterday Bristol made a self righteous and defensive statement on her Facebook about how fellow DWTS contestant Margaret Cho was wrong when she claimed that Bristol’s mom Sarah forced Bristol to compete on the show. As many of you pointed out, it’s clear that the statement was not written by Bristol, given the advanced vocabulary and older pop culture references. I think it’s safe to assume the same about this statement. At least Bristol’s mom’s ghostwriter didn’t make another uncalled for reference to gay people.

Kathy Griffin hosted the VH1 Divas salute to the troops this weekend, but her “jokes” about Bristol Palin being “fat” fell flat.

“She’s the only contestant in the history of the show to actually gain weight,” Griffin said in reference to Bristol’s trip to the finals on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Even after the troops’ loud booing, Griffin continued the attack.

“No, come on, come on. She gained like 30 pounds a week, I swear to God, it was fantastic,” Griffin said. “She’s like the white Precious.”

But Palin, 20, isn’t letting 50-year-old Griffin’s digs bring her down.

“The audience’s reaction to this ‘comedian’ spoke volumes, and the decent people I know would probably have booed her, too,” Palin told Pop Tarts in an exclusive statement. “I hope people didn’t have to pay money to hear her negativity and criticisms.”

The annual VH1 show, which was taped at San Diego’s Miramar Marine base and presented by the USO, also featured a slew of young performers such as Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Paramore. So could Griffin’s comments be potentially dangerous to the young viewers who tuned in to watch their idols on stage?

“Calling Bristol Palin fat is inappropriate and distasteful, even under the guise of humor,” body image expert and author of “Love Your Body Love Your Life,” Sarah Maria, told Pop Tarts. “The problem is that people, and particularly young people, easily absorb the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that are presented to them. [It's a problem]
when someone makes critical comments about someone else’s body and weight, beliefs such as ‘fat is a horrible thing,’ ‘I am no good unless I am thin.’”

According to PopEater’s Rob Shuter, VH1 producers considered editing out the awkward dialogue and response, recorded Friday night, but given the attention it generated, decided to leave it in Sunday’s television broadcast.

VH1 and a rep for Griffin declined to comment.

And while Griffin strutted in a bikini in what she called her “starvation body,” the comedienne wasn’t always so willing to flaunt her figure.
Just last year, the “Suddenly Susan” star admitted that she fell prey to some serious body image issues while seeking out her “big break” in Hollywood. Not only did Griffin get a nose job at the age of 26 in an attempt to improve her appearance, in addition to liposuction that she claims almost killed her, she also reportedly exercised obsessively, starved herself during the day and binged at night.

Having experienced the pain and pressure of show business first-hand, might one think Griffin would be a little mores sensitive to such issues?

“It is quite surprising, given her own experience,” Maria said. “One would hope that her own difficulties would awaken a sensitivity, understanding, and compassion regarding the difficulties of body weight and image in today’s culture.”

[From Fox News]

Of course Sarah Palin’s people gave “Bristol’s” statement to Fox News, and of course Fox News went on in that article about how Kathy Griffin has her own body image issues and how she should know better. She’s a comedian and she makes rude jokes for a living. People who are in the spotlight should know better than to respond to every criticism. Then again, maybe they’re doing it on purpose. The more they complain about what a target they are, the more they get picked on. We tell our kids not to get caught up in that, but it seems to have a distinct advantage for people who want to be talked about as much as possible. I do have to give Sarah Palin’s ghostwriter some credit for holding back this time, though. They could have gone on about Kathy’s eating disorder or her plastic surgery. Instead they let Fox News do that for them.

I’ll say something nice – I don’t blame Bristol for any of this. She’s 20, and when I was 20 I also would have taken credit for any statement my mom asked me to.

Comedian Kathy Griffin stripped down to a camo bikini accessorized with a bullet belt as part of the Vh1 Divas Salute the Troops concert. The show was taped at a Marine Corps air station in Miramar, CA on Friday and aired on VH1 Sunday. Kathy was the host for the event, which included performances by Katy Perry, Paramore, and Nicki Minaj. (If you’re in the US you can watch video of the show on VH1′s site.) This is by no means the first time that we’ve seen Griffin in a bikini, but she wears it well and you can hardly blame her for showing off her skinny assets. Griffin was wheeled into the show on what looked like a missile and accompanied by several servicemen and women. She tried to kiss one guy before launching into her opening monologue. (That video is the second one below.) Her opening line was “I came in on a missile. Now I know what it’s like to be a Kardashian. I mean the one that married Lamar Odom.”

Hosting Friday’s VH1 Divas Salute the Troops concert in Miramar, Calif., the 50-year-old comedienne and reality star strutted onstage in a skimpy bikini.

In a nod to the USO-themed show, Griffin’s two-piece was camouflage and accessorized with a belt made of bullets.

The special airs on VH1 on Sunday, and features performances from Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, Sugarland and Nicki Minaj.

Griffin Tweeted excitedly about meeting Perry, 25: : “I swear, first thing [Perry] said ‘You’re my idol’ Wha??? Watch out Cher!”

[From US Weekly]

Unlike some other female comedians we hear from way too frequently, Kathy is actually pretty funny and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She could stand to gain 10 pounds though. I think she looked better in her bikini photo ops last year.

Here’s the intro to the show ‘Welcome to Operation Ragin Cougar’ (only plays in the US). My favorite part is when she indicates her cleavage and asks “Have you ever been deployed to this region? [her boobs] Because your orders just came in.”

And here’s Griffin’s bikini-clad entrance. It starts off strong at least.

Kathy Griffin has been jokingly referring to Levi Johnston, the father of Bristol Palin’s baby, as her “boyfriend,” for months. The comedian and star of “My Life on the D List” has brought Johnston as her date to various awards shows and red carpet walks, and visited him in Wasilla, Alaska while filming her show. She even had Levi on as her guest when she filled in as host of “Larry King Live,” referring to him as her “lover.” Everyone thought Kathy was just pulling one of her many PR stunts by pairing up with Levi – but is it possible that Kathy and Johnston have been having sex?

Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol may change her mind about marrying baby daddy Levi Johnston when she finds out pals are saying that he recently slept with comic Kathy Griffin!

While the comedian has talked about her obsession with Levi and joked about seeing his “goods” in recent interviews, The Enquirer has learned that Levi’s pals say the pair did indeed have sex romps – on multiple occasions.

Levi, 20, and 49-year-old Kathy had their first encounter in August 2009 when the comedian took him as her date to the “Teen Choice Awards,” according to a close pal of Levi’s. The source adds that their fling continued after Kathy performed in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 5 of this year.

“Levi said that he hooked up with Kathy when he visited L.A. for the ‘Teen Choice Awards,’ and again when she went to Alaska for her stand-up comedy show,” revealed the pal. He was excited when he bragged to friends about how he was going to entertain her at his house after they spend theday together ice fishing.

“The next night, Levi went to Anchorage to stay in Kathy’s hotel – they went to dinner and then to a gay bar called Mad Myrna’s before going back to her hotel.”

Kathy’s interest in Levi began in the summer of 2009 after he started making headlines by revealing behind-the-scenes secrets about Bristol’s mom Sarah, the former vice presidential candidate.

The star of “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” then shocked onlookers when she took Levi as her date to the “Teen Choice Awards.”

In our June 28 issue, we revealed that 19-year-old Bristol and Levi had secretly rekindled their romance, and Levi was spending nights at her townhouse in Anchorage behind Sara Palin’s back. The two have an 18-month-old son, Tripp.

Now friends say that Levi and Bristol are fully back together and talking about getting married in the immediate future, but they fear that once Bristol finds out about Levi’s flings with Kathy, those plans will come to a screeching halt.

“Bristol has no idea that Levi actually had sex with Kathy – she thought it was all a joke,” said the pal. “Bristol is going to freak when she finds out the truth.”

[From The National Enquirer print version, July 19, 2010]

I’m not sure if I believe it, but it sure is funny! Not only is Kathy an evil genius, but Levi Johnston has to be one of the dumbest people on the planet. It seems like he will do absolutely anything for fame, and can be led around by his genitals by just about anyone. Seriously, what is that kid’s deal? As for the Bristol/Levi reunion, I would hope that she has more sense than to marry this idiot, and not just because he had sex with Kathy Griffin.

Header: Kathy & Levi on August 9, 2009. Credit: WENN.