Pop star Madonna dresses up as a Boy Scout at GLAAD's annual media awards in New York. The singer was attempting to bring attention to the youth organization's ban on gays.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MARCH 16, 2013) (GLAAD) - Pop star Madonna on Saturday (March 16) presented CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper with a gay media watchdog's top honors in recognition of his stature and accomplishment as an openly gay journalist.

The singer wore the Scout uniform as a way to call for the lifting of the rule that bans gays in from joining the U.S. youth organization.

The annual Vito Russo Award is named after the activist and film historian who was one of the founding member of media watchdog group GLAAD, the Gay andLesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The newsman said that "being gay is certainly one of the greatest blessings" of his life, adding that "it opened my head and heart in ways that I never could have predicted."

Past winners have included Suze Orman, Rosie O'Donnell, Elton John and Tom Ford.

In other awards handed out at the 24th annual ceremony, NBC's "Smash" was named outstanding television drama, and the film about 1980s AIDS activists, "How to Survive a Plague" won for outstanding documentary.

The Boston Globe, Rolling Stone magazine, City Pages' Andy Mannix, The New York Times' Frank Bruni and The Advocate/Out were among winners for print journalism.

Awards also went to Spanish media including Telemundo, People en Español, voces.huffingtonpost.com and ElDiarioNY.com.