Entertainers Who Turned Down Major Awards

You Won’t Hear Anyone Call Him ‘Sir’ Anytime Soon

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Bowie’s immense success led him to one of the highest honors the Queen can bestow upon a mere, mortal human (if you count Ziggy Stardust as a human in the first place). Unfortunately, the star wasn’t having it.

When Mick Jagger received his knighthood, Bowie scoffed at the honor. He allegedly said, “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.” And he stuck to his guns (or space rockets. It depends on which phase he was in). When the British government gave him the title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), he rejected it. When the Queen offered to make him a knight three years later, he also declined.