Actor Alan Cumming, from X2: X-Men United and Peacock’s the Traitors, recently took to Instagram (via THR) to formally renounce his title of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which he received in 2009 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honors.
The announcement coincided with Cumming’s 58th birthday, upon which he posted:
The award was given to celebrate Cumming’s outstanding service as a British-American citizen, specifically, as the actor notes, “for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, USA” while the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell had been enacted by the Clinton administration and subsequently repealed during the Obama presidency.
“I want to tell you about something I recently did for myself. I returned my OBE.”
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His decision to return the award comes from a more evolved understanding of what the Order of the British Empire actually represents historically in a global context:
Cumming made a point to also acknowledge his ongoing gratitude for why he was given the award by sharing his original sentiment:
“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 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). 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!”
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‘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’."
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LGBT Activism and Baggage
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Cumming released a memoir in 2021 titled Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life. In an interview with Time, he recounts his experience coming out as an actor working in the public eye:
The actor, activist, and memoir author also spoke about the rift in LGBT right equalities existing between American and British cultures:
“I had a huge public “coming out,” posing naked on the cover of Out magazine—you can’t get more drama queeny than that. But that was really a result of being famous, not about what I was feeling in my life and my sexuality at the time. And now the world is different. I feel less of that mainstream pressure.”
“We’re living in America, let’s remember, which is both puritanical and prurient. You like to think of Great Britain as being much more progressive in terms of LGBT rights, right? Gay rights at least. So for trans rights to become such a stumbling block is quite shocking. First of all, the idea that you feel someone else getting basic human rights is taking something away from you is such a horrible indication of how you see life. Second, feminism is about equality. For so many women to espouse this idea that their rights are impinged by trans people getting rights, I find that shocking, too. It’s never really about toilets or sports. It’s about bodies, and when you make it just about bodies and body parts, it takes away from people’s dignity. It’s so degrading.”
