Jennifer Tyrrell might not have been the most glamorous person at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 16, but the cause she has helped spearhead was the highlight of the awards show.
“I head-over-heels fell in love with [the Boy Scouts],” says Tyrrell, a former Boy Scouts of America den mother.
Tyrrell's son, Cruz, also fell for the Boy Scouts. But that all changed when Tyrrell, a lesbian, was forced out because of her sexual orientation.
Since then, she has been fighting to end the group's ban on gays and lesbians; she also wants it to develop an anti-discrimination charter. “How can you say that everyone doesn’t deserve to learn values and morals?”
The fight for gays and lesbians in Scouts was highlighted during the GLAAD awards ceremony when Madonna donned a Boy Scout uniform. Other celebrities, such as Carly Rae Jepsen, have also spoken out against the ban.
Below is a red-carpet interview with Tyrrell at the
awards, where she was an honoured speaker.
Madonna at the GLAAD Media Awards.
(Kevin Mazur)