Scottish actor Alan Cumming announced that he returned the Order of the British Empire because of the “toxicity of the empire”, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
He received the award in 2009 for his creative work, as well as “for active work for equal rights of the representatives of the homosexual and lesbian community”.
In an Instagram post, the Instinct and The Good Wife actor wrote that while he was “incredibly grateful” to be on the 2009 Queen Elizabeth II birthday honors list, he had recently changed his mind. you are
“The death of the Queen and the subsequent conversations about the role of the monarchy and particularly the way the British Empire benefited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples around the world was a real eye-opener for me,” said Cumming, who is also an American citizen.
He acknowledges that the award contributed to the cause of the LGBT community at the time he received it.
Buckingham Palace did not respond to an inquiry by Reuters.
Alan Cumming is a two-time Tony Award winner and Laurence Olivier Award winner. He became an American citizen in 2008.
Cumming shared with his followers on Instagram that he returned the award on his 58th birthday, which is today.
“I explained the reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being excellent at all. Now I’m back to being plain old Alan Cumming,” he said.
