Alan Cumming hands back OBE given 'toxicity of Empire'

Actor Alan Cumming has given back the OBE he received 14 years ago because he does not want to be associated with the “toxicity of the Empire”.

The Perthshire-born star of stage and screen said conversations about the monarchy that followed the death of Queen Elizabeth II had “opened his eyes” to the history of the British Empire and the "exploitation of indigenous peoples".

The actor received the honour in 2009 for his services to acting and activism given his campaign work in the US when same sex couples could not get married and openly gay, lesbian or bisexual people could not serve in the military.

Cumming revealed to his 479,000 followers on Instagram his decision to hand back the honour, with the announcement coinciding with this 58th birthday.

Actor Alan Cumming announced he has handed back his OBE given the 'toxicity' of the British Empire. PIC: BAFTA Scotland.

The actor told his followers he wanted to tell them “something I recently did for myself – I returned my OBE”.

Cumming said he had “great gratitude” for being honoured in 2009 for his activism for equal rights in the US, but that a change in law there meant the good of the award was “less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of Empire”.

He wrote: “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.

"Also, thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed, and the great good the awards brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent that the misgivings I have been associated with the toxicity of the Empire.

“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!”

In 2014, Cumming backed a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum and continues to be a supporter of the cause.

Last year, he said the debate around independence was putting people off because it had become “polarised”.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cumming suggested the response of many Scots to the mention of independence was that “immediately sphincters tighten”.

“I feel that, in a funny way, it has been so much in our culture, and it has been so divisive, that I think we’ve stopped wanting to talk about it,” he told the festival audience. “It’s a bit like ‘I don’t do politics’. I think we need to talk about it a bit more.

“We’re so polarised in this country about Scottish referendums that we’ve stopped being able to actually understand what independence means. I find that really sad.”

Cumming is not the only celebrity to have returned an OBE.

Welsh actor Michael Sheen revealed in 2020 he had given back his own OBE as he called on the royal family to end the centuries-old practice of handing the title of Prince of Wales to the heir apparent to the English throne.

Beatles singer and songwriter John Lennon returned his MBE in 1969, writing in a letter to the Queen the act was a “protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam”.