Winston Marshall
(Picture: Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock)Winston Marshall has quit Mumford and Sons after voicing his support for Unmasked, a controversial book by Andy Ngo criticising the antifa movement.
In a lengthy blog, Marshall said his tweet had dragged his band members into a social media storm and that he hoped “in distancing myself from them” he would be more “able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences.”
He said: “At the beginning of March I tweeted to American journalist Andy Ngo.
“Posting about books had been a theme of my social-media throughout the pandemic. I believed this tweet to be as innocuous as the others. How wrong I turned out to be.
“Over the course of 24 hours it was trending with tens of thousands of angry retweets and comments. I failed to foresee that my commenting on a book critical of the Far-Left could be interpreted as approval of the equally abhorrent Far-Right.”
Marshall’s tweet, which he posted in March read: “Congratulations @MrAndyNgo. Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man”.
Critics of the book, which claims to expose a “violent extremist movement”, say it inflates the threat of the left-wing antifa movement.
Reacting to his exodus, some shared messages of support, including the rest of the band:
We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man. M, B & T. pic.twitter.com/EiXTIkxxL5
— Mumford & Sons (@MumfordAndSons) June 24, 2021
I’ve learned some journalists get to enjoy the prestige & legitimacy of institutional awards because they’ve never reported on something important enough to face suppression.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 25, 2021
The path I chose in my work was paved by writers driven by the same bravery & integrity you’ve shown.
Important piece 👇 https://t.co/BnbyoZ0PCd
— Tom Trewick (@TomTrewickRPO) June 24, 2021
Good luck Winston! It’s a shame that people in today’s society can’t just listen to others perspectives without attacking. EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion and it should be said without recourse. I had the privilege to meat you in CLE at the rock n roll HOF. Class act!!
— Charlie Ahrens (@charlieahrens) June 24, 2021
Others were not so fussed and thought his support of Ngo warranted the backlash:
“All I did was like and agree with a known fascist who puts leftists on atomwaffen kill lists. How could I have possibly known this might negatively impact me?” Sure is a dang move
— Mustard Account li'l 🌳 listen to @onbeliefpod (@karengeier) June 24, 2021
Winston, can I just say how brave you are for speaking up about this. For too long have guys who play banjo or whatever been silenced when speaking up about some bollocks you were told about by their rich mates when doing gear in the VIP section of Mahiki’s
— Ol’ Grandpa Dinners (@tom_usher_) June 24, 2021
Not bothered whether he leaves them or not. It’s the attempt to make an equivalence between the actual threat of the ‘far left’ and ‘far right’ that’s wrong-headed
— Gina (@Saffiya_Khan1) June 24, 2021
And anyone having even a tiny bit of respect for Ngo needs to give their head a shake
No one gives a shit https://t.co/u0oZFLiIOb
— 😎 (@papifatstax) June 24, 2021
And then there were a few who found his writing style amusing for one particular reason:
Stopped reading right around here lmao https://t.co/GMhmhSroMV pic.twitter.com/q7KlaxzYLw
— JON! (@jonnymilkers) June 25, 2021
lol what the fuck does this mean? https://t.co/HBg9H6mVmg pic.twitter.com/Dus3ZLpD4i
— STREAM ALCOHOL FREE AT STATE'S END (@homotome) June 24, 2021
“As a banjo player I’ve experienced discrimination” is objectively the funniest thing that’s ever been said. https://t.co/GEfWvLAIdv
— John-Michael Bond (@BondJohnBond) June 24, 2021
We’ll wait and see what the banjo player does next.
