Piers Morgan lashes out at Alan Cumming after returning OBE following conversations after the Queen’s death

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Piers Morgan wades in after Alan Cumming returns his OBE, received in 2009, due to ‘conversations following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Piers Morgan has lashed out at Alan Cumming following the actor’s decision to return his OBE, labelling him a ‘disloyal attention-seeker’ on social media. Cumming cited ‘recent public conversations regarding the monarchy and British empire’ as having ‘changed his perception’.

The Scottish Actor, who also holds US citizenship was handed the OBE after appearing on the Queen’s honours list in 2009, but revealed in an Instagram post on Friday (January 27) he had returned the award.

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Cumming wrote: “The Queen’s death 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”

Explaining his change of heart, the 58-year-old continued: “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.”

Reacting to the news, Morgan didn’t hold back, taking to twitter saying: “What a pathetic, disingenuous, disloyal, attention-seeking little twerp.”

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Getty Images for AARP

Cumming, who recently hosted The Traitors US isn’t the first actor to return his OBE. In December 2020, Welsh actor Michael Sheen shared a statement revealing he too had handed back his honour, saying: “I remember sitting there going, ‘Well I have a choice: I either don’t give this lecture and hold on to my OBE or I give this lecture and I have to give my OBE back’.”

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