Alan Cumming returns OBE citing ‘empire toxicity’ | Alan Cumming

We tend to get things on our birthdays, but on his 58th birthday, Alan Cumming gave something back: the OBE he received in 2009.

In an Instagram post, the Scottish actor shared how he had recently «opened his eyes» to the «toxicity» of the British Empire. He said his soul-searching was prompted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the conversations sparked by the event.

«I was incredibly grateful to receive [the OBE] in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honors List, as it was awarded not only for my work as an actor, but «for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, United States,» Cumming wrote. He had become a U.S. citizen a year earlier and cited some of that country’s homophobic bills he had campaigned against: the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented federal recognition of same-sex marriages, and the «don’t ask.» don’t, don’t ask». t tell” which openly prohibited gay, lesbian or bisexual people from serving in the military.

Upon receiving his OBE, Cumming said in a statement: “I see this honor as an encouragement to keep fighting for what I believe is right and for what I take for granted as a British citizen. Thank you to the Queen and those on her Birthday Honors List for drawing attention to the US government’s inaction on this issue. It makes me very proud to be British and galvanized as an American.

But recent debates around the monarchy have changed Cumming’s view of the monarchy’s role in the modern world – in particular how «the British Empire benefited at the expense (and death) of the indigenous peoples of the whole world». Cumming now believes that «the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause in 2009 is now less powerful than the apprehensions I have of being associated with the toxicity of empire».

Cumming isn’t the only celebrity to have returned the honors. John Lennon returned his MBE in 1969 in protest at «Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra affair, our support for America in Vietnam, and Cold Turkey’s fall from the charts». More recently, Welsh actor Michael Sheen returned the OBE he received in 2009 after reading about Welsh history and his country’s relationship with the British state.

Last year, Cumming received a more welcome form of recognition: a Tony Award for Best Musical, as producer of A Strange Loop. More recently, he’s been seen on screens as the host of the US version of the hit show The Traitors, a role he seems to have embraced with glee. «He presents himself as if he’s a substitute teacher sent to deal with an unruly class he can’t bother to discipline… he’s obviously enjoying himself,» read the Guardian’s review.

Now Cumming can bask in yet another reinvention. As he signed his post: ‘I am now old Alan Cumming again. Happy Birthday to me!»