British comedian Alan Cummings, a native of Scotland, indicated on Friday January 27, 2023 on social networks that he had returned the decoration which had been awarded to him in 2009, denouncing in particular the “British Empire Toxicity”. This position taken by the actor (GoldenEye, X-Men 2…) brings a new stone to the building of the vast current reflection on the colonial past of the British Empire and its misdeeds, which extends in many fields.
Decorated as an actor and activist for the LGBT cause
In a post published Friday on Instagram, Alan Cumming recalls that he had been decorated with the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his work as an actor as well as his fight for the rights of LGBT people in the States United States, where he lives most of the time and where it took until 2015 for gay marriage to be legalized nationwide.
But “the death of the queen” Elizabeth II in September and “discussions around the role of the monarchy and in particular how the British Empire took advantage of indigenous peoples (and their deaths) around the world were really eye-opening for me”, wrote the comedian. “Times and laws have changed in the United States” and the benefits that its price has “contributed to the LGBTQ+ cause in 2009” are now “less powerful than my fears of being associated with the toxicity of empire”, he points out. He thus indicates that he has returned his price, explained his reasons and reiterated his “great gratitude” to have received it, wishing each other a happy birthday, on his 58th birthday.
See this post on Instagram
Welsh actor Michael Sheen also made a distinction, and before him, Lennon in 1969
At the end of 2020, the Welsh actor Michael Sheen (seen in the film The Queen, series Prodigal Sound…) revealed that in 2017 he decided to give up his royal decoration (article in English). He thus intended to protest against the attribution of the title of Prince of Wales to the heir to the British crown.
Other British personalities took similar decisions, among them John Lennon who, in 1969, returned his decoration of Member of the Order of the Empire in protest against British involvement in the civil war in Nigeria and the support for the Americans in the Vietnam War. Later, David Bowie twice declined monarchical accolades.