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Writing on his Instagram page, the "Instinct"
and "The Good Wife" actor, who also has U.S. citizenship, said
that while he had been "incredibly grateful" to receive the
recognition in the 2009 Queen’s birthday honours list, he had
recently changed his mind.
Cumming said he was awarded the OBE for his work as an actor as
well as "for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian
community".
"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," Cumming said.
"Also, 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."
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Cumming, who has won two Tony awards and a Laurence Olivier
award for his theatre work, got U.S. citizenship in 2008.
Cumming told his followers he had returned the OBE on his 58th
birthday on Friday.
"I... 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," he said.
Fellow actor Michael Sheen said in 2020 he had given back his
OBE after looking into the “tortured history” between his native
Wales and the English and British states.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Additional reporting by
Mike Holden; Editing by Christina Fincher)
(Photo: Alan Cumming performs extracts from
'Burn' ahead of the world premiere as part of the Edinburgh
International Festival at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh,
Scotland, Britain August 5, 2022. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File
Photo)
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