Alan Cumming

Actor Alan Cumming has returned the OBE he was awarded in 2009 as part of the Queen's birthday honours list. The X-Men star said although he had been ...

I'm now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!" He added: "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.

Scottish actor was given the honour at the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2009.

In December 2020, Welsh actor [Michael Sheen shared a statement revealing that he too had handed back his honour](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/michael-sheen-obe-owen-jones-interview-b1780008.html). “In fact, let’s make it ‘Knight of Being Excellent’. Sheen said that he’d quietly given the award back as he realised he would have been a “hypocrite” were he to keep it and still give the lecture about “the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state, and the history of it”. Happy birthday to me!” I returned my OBE,” he wrote. [Isobel Lewis](/author/isobel-lewis) Comments [Alan Cumming](/topic/alan-cumming) says he has handed back his [OBE](/topic/obe) after a re-examination of the “toxicity” of the [British empire](/topic/british-empire).

"I'm now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again," the Traitors US host said.

I’m now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. He continued: “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 (OBE stands for Officer of the British Empire). [a post to commemorate his 58th birthday](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn6UtxFucen/?hl=en) on Friday, Alan explained he had “misgivings” at “being associated with the toxicity of empire” and had now handed back the award.

BBC The Traitors USA star hands back OBE following the death of the Queen.

It is awarded to civilians and members of the armed forces who’ve made major contributions or their work has gained national recognition. “This is the statement I made at the time: ‘I am really shocked and delighted to receive this honour. 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. It makes me very proud to be British, and galvanised as an American’.” I’m now back to being plain old (Incidentally both these policies were instituted by the Clinton administration).

Alan Cumming has returned a prestigious royal award in an effort to sever his association with the "toxicity" of the British Empire.

In 2021, [Barbados](https://cnn.com/2021/11/29/americas/barbados-bids-farewell-to-queen-intl-cmd/index.html) became the first country in nearly 20 years to cast off the Crown. I’m now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again,” Cumming concluded. Cumming received the honor in recognition of his services to film, theater and the arts. The prime minister of [Antigua and Barbuda](https://cnn.com/2022/09/11/americas/antigua-barbuda-referendum-republic-king-charles-intl/index.html) also announced in September plans to hold a referendum on whether to remove King Charles III as the head of state. I returned my OBE,” the Scottish actor said in an [royal award](https://cnn.com/2020/12/31/uk/new-year-honours-2020-celebrities-intl-scli-gbr/index.html) in an effort to sever his association with the “ [toxicity](https://cnn.com/2021/03/08/opinions/meghan-markle-interview-monarchy-uk-racism-andrews/index.html)” of the British Empire.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming has handed back his OBE due to his “misgivings” with being associated with the “toxicity” of the British Empire.

Happy birthday to me!” “So, I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place. He was made an OBE in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his work as an actor, as well as his campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights in the USA.

The X-Men star says although he was "grateful", his eyes were opened over the "toxicity of empire".

I'm now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!" He added: "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.

The actor received the award in 2009 for his 'activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community'

“Fourteen years ago, I was incredibly grateful to receive it in the 2009 Queen’s birthday honours list, for it was awarded not just for my job as an actor but ‘for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, USA’. The Scottish actor had received the award in 2009 for his activism on equal rights for the gay and lesbian communities in America. The actor received the award in 2009 for his ‘activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community’

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”.

“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. Happy Birthday to me!” “So I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place.

Alan Cumming stars in the Marvel movie 'X-Men 2' with Brian Cox, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn.

Calling the film “absolutely glorious,” Cumming praises the performance of Juliette Binoche, explaining, “She is amazing in this film and it’s a really heartbreaking tale of loss and hurt. “Magical realism” is a rather trite phrase, but their films are both magical and real”. Their homes are — of course — insane, but it’s their happiness and comfort with them that is really the thrill”. “I fell upon this documentary and it is an absolute gem,” Cumming told the publication, adding, “What makes it so is the five people’s homes that we are invited into. Collaborating with a number of significant filmmakers in his career, including Stanley Kubrick, Martin Campbell, Stephen Kay and Bryan Singer, Cumming is known to contemporary audiences for his role as the eccentric villain Fegan Floop in the 2001 family flick Spy Kids. With this in mind, the actor sat down with

Scottish actor Alan Cumming has handed back his OBE due to his “misgivings” with being associated with the “toxicity” of the British Empire.

Happy birthday to me!” “So, I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place. He was made an OBE in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his work as an actor, as well as his campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights in the USA.

The Goldeneye actor said at the time that he was 'delighted' to be awarded an OBE, but explains that after the Queen's death, his eyes were opened by ...

I'm now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!" Cumming was made an OBE in 2009 as part of the Queen's birthday honours, being recognised for acting, as well as the work he does to campaign for LGBTQ+ rights in the US.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming said on Friday he was giving back his OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire - award, saying his eyes had been ...

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. "I... Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Whether for political, personal or professional reasons, not everyone considers a royal award an 'honour'

We’re vagabonds and rogues, and we’re not a part of the authorities and establishment, really. I am profoundly anti-empire.” Explaining he “gets angry” when hearing the word “empire” the poet also said it would have been better to give him “one of these empire things” for his work to combat racism or promoting animal rights rather than literature where “there are a whole lot of writers who are better than me.” I think the Beatles gave it back in the end. Looking back she said: “At the time, we felt that we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. According to the His name was one of many revealed by the “Besides, I like the idea of actors not being part of the establishment. He apparently believed the British monarchy to be “out of date”, reported the “By the time I’d finished writing that lecture, I remember sitting there going, ‘Well, I have a choice. But I now speak with the zeal of a convert. The musician rejected a CBE in 2006. It would be like wearing a suit every day of your life.”

Alan Cumming has handed back the OBE he received in 2009 for his acting and activism after re-assessing his attitudes towards the monarchy and empire.

After reading up on Welsh history and his country’s relationship with the British state, Welsh actor Michael Sheen returned the OBE he received in 2009. So I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place,” Cumming shared. Upon accepting the award, the actor originally said: “The fight for equality for the LGBT community in the US is something I am very passionate about,” Cumming commented.