Alan Cumming Returns OBE Honor Over “Toxicity” of the British Empire

Alan Cumming announced that he has returned his Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire that he was awarded in 2009 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honors list.

The X2: X-Men United actor took to Instagram on Friday, which was also his 58th birthday, to share, “I want to tell you about something I recently did for myself. I returned my OBE.”

The honor is given for an outstanding achievement or service to the community. Cumming added that he was “incredibly grateful” that it was “awarded not just for my job as an actor but ‘for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, USA.’” In his post, he referenced the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the Defense of Marriage Act, which were instituted during the Clinton administration. Both have since been repealed, by President Barack Obama in 2011 and President Joe Biden in 2022, respectively.

As for his reason for returning the award, Cumming said, “The Queen’s death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British Empire profited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes.”

“Thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire (OBE stands for Officer of the British Empire),” the actor continued. “So I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place. I’m now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!”

The Anniversary Party star’s post also included the statement that he said he made at the time of receiving the award, which read: “I am really shocked and delighted to receive this honour. I am especially happy to be honoured for my activism as much as for my work. The fight for equality for the LGBT community in the US is something I am very passionate about, and I see this honour as encouragement to go on fighting for what I believe is right and for what I take for granted as a UK citizen. Thank you to the Queen and those who make up her Birthday honours list for bringing attention to the inaction of the US government on this issue. It makes me very proud to be British, and galvanised as an American.”

Cumming joins a handful of other notable names who have returned or declined a British honor, including actor Michael Sheen, musician John Lennon, director Ken Loach, poet Benjamin Zephaniah, musician David Bowie and actor Jim Broadbent, to name a few.