Alan Cumming has returned his OBE (Officer of The British Empire) after reexamining “the toxicity of empire” following the dying of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Traitors host was awarded an OBE in 2009, however in an Instagram post celebrating his 58th birthday, Cumming defined that he’d just lately returned the honour.
“Fourteen years in the past, I used to be extremely grateful to obtain [my OBE] within the 2009 Queen’s birthday honours listing, for it was awarded not only for my job as an actor however ‘for activism for equal rights for the homosexual and lesbian group [across the] USA’,” wrote Cumming.
He defined that “again then, the Defence Of Marriage Act ensured that very same intercourse {couples} couldn’t get married or get pleasure from the identical fundamental authorized rights as straight folks, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Inform ensured that brazenly homosexual, lesbian or bisexual folks have been barred from serving within the army.”
In an announcement accepting the OBE, Cumming mentioned: “The struggle for equality for the LGBT group within the US is one thing I’m very obsessed with, and I see this honour as encouragement to go on preventing for what I imagine is correct and for what I take without any consideration as a UK citizen.
“Thanks to the Queen and those that make up her Birthday honours listing for bringing consideration to the inaction of the US authorities on this subject. It makes me very proud to be British, and galvanised as an American.”
Nonetheless, “the Queen’s dying and the following conversations concerning the position of monarchy and particularly the best way the British Empire profited on the expense (and dying) of indigenous peoples internationally actually opened my eyes,” wrote Cumming.
“Fortunately, occasions and legal guidelines within the US have modified, and the good good the award dropped at the LGBTQ+ trigger again in 2009 is now much less potent than the misgivings I’ve of being related to the toxicity of empire,” he added. “I’m now again to being plain outdated Alan Cumming once more.”
The choice has been extensively praised on social media, although Piers Morgan did go on to call Cumming a “pathetic, disingenuous, disloyal, attention-seeking little twerp” over the transfer.
Alan Cumming hosts the US model of hit BBC actuality present The Traitors. All the first season is presently out there to observe on iPlayer alongside the British model.