The very famous celebrities to have turned down New Year Honours

31 Dec 2021

My London

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The very famous celebrities to have turned down New Year Honours

This year's list of awards will most likely be published on Friday

The close of the year signals the release of the New Year’s Honours list, awards presented by or in the name of the Queen to Brits who have typically performed outstandingly in their field or improved life for other people.

The tradition dates back to at least 1890 and this year will be no different, with the 2022 list expected to be published on Friday (December 31).

Rumours have abounded as to who will receive a gong, with mentions of England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty, tennis star Emma Raducanu, actor Daniel Craig, actress Joanna Lumley, as well as frontline workers, reported by the Daily Mail .

READ MORE: Royal Family: What the Queen said in her first ever Christmas speech almost 70 years ago

But, while the Queen can bestow an honour, whether to accept it is up to the individual.

And acceptance is no foregone conclusion, for major celebrities have rejected an award in the past.

Emma Raducanu poses with her trophy after winning the US Open in September (Image: PA Wire)

Here is a list of a few of those household names to have turned down a gong.

Nigella Lawson

The 60-year-old chef and TV personality has had a long and successful career in the industry, from writing about food in The Sunday Times to publishing her own books, to starring in her own TV shows.

Naturally, as a bastion of British culture, Nigella was offered an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2001, but turned it down seemingly out of sheer modesty.

Nigella is a much beloved British cook yet turned down an honour (Image: BBC)

When asked why she didn't want the title, the Wandsworth-born star reportedly said: “I’m not saving lives and I’m not doing anything other than something I absolutely love.”

David Bowie

The ‘Heroes’ and ‘Changes’ singer apparently turned down two honours, a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2000 and a knighthood three years later.

"I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that," he told the Sun in 2003, the same year Mick Jagger was given a knighthood. "I seriously don't know what it's for. It's not what I spent my life working for.

“It's not my place to make a judgment on Jagger, it's his decision. But it's just not for me."

Some of The Beatles

While Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney accepted knighthoods, fellow Beatle George Harrison rejected an OBE the year before his death in 2001.

Journalist Ray Connolly, who knew The Beatles, told the Mail on Sunday in 2013: “Whoever it was who decided to offer him the OBE and not the knighthood was extraordinarily insensitive. George would have felt insulted - and with very good reason.”

The Beatles' George Harrison rejected an OBE while John Lennon returned his MBE

The Beatles did accept MBEs in 1965 - but, four years later, John Lennon returned his honour.

A spokesman for Apple , the Beatle company, reportedly said that John had sent identical letters addressed to the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the Central Chancery saying his action was “in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.”

Skepta

The Tottenham native, whose real name is Joseph Junior Adenuga, hinted that he had turned down an MBE for the 2017 New Year's Honours in his song Hypocrisy.

The rapper dropped the bombshell that he had apparently rejected an honour in his song 'Hypocrisy' (Image: Vincent Cole)

In the second verse, the grime artist raps: “Just came back from the Ivors/ And look at what we collected/ The MBE got rejected/I'm not trying to be accepted.”

Stephen Hawking

In 2008, the physicist reportedly said that he had been approached with an offer of a knighthood in the late 1990s, but had turned it down.

The late scientist reportedly refused a knighthood in protest against a lack of governmental funding for the sciences (Image: Philip Toscano/PA Wire)

It was later alleged by Metro that his refusal was in protest against a lack of governmental funding for the sciences.

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French and Saunders

The comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders turned down OBEs in 2001, with Jennifer reportedly explaining later to Source Magazine: “If I felt I deserved a Damehood I’d accept it.

The comedy duo said they turned down the offer because they 'were being paid very well to have a lot of fun' (Image: BBC/Gary Moyes)

“At the time, we felt that we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. It didn’t seem right somehow. We didn’t deserve a pat on the back. It felt a bit fake to stand alongside people who devoted their lives to truly worthy causes.”

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