Alan Cumming: Actor and US Traitors host Alan Cumming hands back OBE

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 “grateful”, his eyes were now “opened” over “the toxicity of empire”.

Cumming, who also hosts the US version of TV show The Traitors, said the OBE was for his acting, but also for “activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community [in the] USA”.

“Thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed,” he added.

The Scottish actor, writer and presenter said he was returning the award on his 58th birthday, and it was something he “recently did for myself”.

He added that in the US in 2009, “the Defence of Marriage Act ensured that same sex couples couldn’t get married or enjoy the same basic legal rights as straight people, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ensured that openly gay, lesbian or bisexual people were barred from serving in the military (incidentally both these policies were instituted by the Clinton administration).”

When he was made an OBE, he said: “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.”

But Cummings said that 14 years later, the death of the Queen 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”.

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 (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!”

He said in 2019 he was proud of starring in the first ever network drama on US television to have a gay leading character, playing Dr Dylan Reinhart in Instinct, which is shown on Sky Witness in the UK.

Cumming posted a message on Instagram at the time, saying he was proud to have been part of a show in which “millions of people will have seen a same-sex marriage portrayed for the first time”.

The actor’s roles across stage and screen have ranged from BBC comedy The High Life and playing Hamlet for the English Touring Theatre, to US shows such as the Good Wife and a Broadway version of Cabaret.

Cumming, who has dual UK and US citizenship, also recently hosted a travel show on Channel 4 with his friend and fellow actor Miriam Margolyes.

He received an honorary degree by the Open University in 2015, for his contribution to education and culture.