Winston Marshall Departs Mumford & Sons
Marshall’s departure stems from a controversial tweet.
By Nate Todd Jun 24, 2021 • 3:09 pm PDT
Mumford & Sons multi-instrumentalist Winston Marshall announced his departure from the band. Marshall’s decision to leave Mumford & Sons stems from a controversial tweet supporting journalist Andy Ngo’s book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.
Marshall released a statement regarding his departure. Read an excerpt below:
At the beginning of March I tweeted to American journalist Andy Ngo, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Unmasked. “Congratulations @MrAndyNgo. Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man”. 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.
He concluded by saying:
For me to speak about what I’ve learnt to be such a controversial issue will inevitably bring my bandmates more trouble. My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that. I could remain and continue to self-censor but it will erode my sense of integrity. Gnaw my conscience. I’ve already felt that beginning.
The only way forward for me is to leave the band. I hope in distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences. I leave with love in my heart and I wish those three boys nothing but the best. I have no doubt that their stars will shine long into the future. I will continue my work with Hong Kong Link Up and I look forward to new creative projects as well as speaking and writing on a variety of issues, challenging as they may be.
Marshall also recalls his early memories in Mumford & Sons and more in the letter. Read the entire statement here.
Additionally, Mumford & Sons issued a brief response via social media. See their Facebook post below:
