Jane Lynch Remembers 'the Greatest Thing' About Naya Rivera: 'If You Were a Friend, You Knew It'

Jane Lynch Calls Naya Rivera's Death a ‘Great Loss’: She Was a ‘Fierce Force of Nature’

Lynch is hosting the reboot of Weakest Link, which premieres tonight at 8pm ET on NBC

Jane Lynch is opening up about the profound impact her late Glee costar Naya Rivera had on her life.

″The greatest thing about Naya Rivera was that she would be the first one to speak up if something was happening that wasn't right, that wasn't fair, that was cruel,″ Lynch, 60, said during an appearance on People (the TV Show).

″If you were a friend of hers, you knew it, you could feel it,″ Lynch continued, adding that Rivera was ″loyal″ and ″protective.″

″Just such a fierce force of nature that girl was. It's a great loss. It's a great loss for all of us," shared Lynch, who is hosting the reboot of Weakest Link, which premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

GETTY IMAGES (2) Jane Lynch, Naya Rivera

RELATED: Jane Lynch Remembers Her Glee Costar Naya Rivera a Month After Her Death: 'A Force of Nature'

Rivera starred on the hit Fox television series as sassy cheerleader Santana Lopez while Lynch played alongside her as William McKinley High School cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester.

Lynch previously opened up about Rivera on the Today show in August, fondly remembering the late star's acting talents.

″I had three-page monologues, so did she,″ Lynch shared. ″It took me a week to get mine, she would do them right off the bat. And they would be changing them and she had no problem with it."

FOX Jane Lynch and Naya Rivera on Glee

Lynch also revealed that Rivera's role on the show, where she played a lesbian who came to terms with her sexuality over the run of the series, was as important to her as it was to Glee fans, who saw Rivera as an LGBTQ trailblazer.

RELATED: Naya Rivera Laid to Rest 2 Weeks After Drowning, Death Certificate Reveals She Died Within Minutes

″She was a great advocate and loved the fact that she and Heather Morris had the lesbian relationship on the show and how much that meant to so many young people," Lynch added.

Rivera's body was found in Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, on July 13, five days after she disappeared in the water during a boating trip with her son Josey, whom she shared with ex-husband Ryan Dorsey. She was 33.

Her cause of death was ruled as drowning and the manner of death was determined to be an accident.