Cumming returns OBE citing ‘toxicity’ of empire

The Scottish actor Alan Cumming has returned the OBE he was awarded in 2009, citing the “toxicity” of the British empire.

In an Instagram post, he said his soul-searching was prompted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

“I was incredibly grateful to receive [the OBE] in the 2009 Queen’s birthday honours list, for it was awarded not just for my job as an actor but ‘for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, USA’,” wrote Cumming.

He had become a US citizen a year earlier and cited some of the homophobic bills he had campaigned against.