Winston Marshall: Opinions split over banjoist’s decision to quit Mumford & Sons after Andy Ngo controversy
‘Imagine being too right wing to be in Mumford & Sons,’ quipped one person
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Winston Marshall’s decision to quit Mumford & Sons after 14 years has divided opinion on Twitter.
The banjoist left the band this week, following a backlash he received when he tweeted his admiration for a book by controversial right-wing American journalist Andy Ngo in March.
In a lengthy post on Medium, the musician explained that it had been “no easy decision”, as he detailed his time as a founding member of the British folk-rock group.
“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 wrote.
Marshall said that, while he had experienced abuse as a figure in the public eye before, this was “another level”, and was also affecting his friends and bandmates.
Many people have praised Marshall for his “integrity” on Twitter and said his decision to leave the band was “heartbreaking”.
Others have poked fun at the folk-rock group, saying it’s quite a feat being considered too right-wing in a band that has been mocked over the years for its Conservative-leaning politics. In 2018, Marshall and fellow band members Ben Lovett and Ted Dwayne were photographed in the recording studio with conservative YouTube personality and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson.
Marshall co-founded Mumford & Sons in 2007 with singer Marcus Mumford, Lovett and Dwayne.
They released four albums together, including their 2009 debut Sigh No More, and 2012’s Babel, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
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