Celebrities
Kate Plummer
Jun 25, 2021
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. https://t.co/EiXTIkxxL5— Mumford & Sons (@Mumford & Sons) 1624543428
@MrWinMarshall I’ve learned some journalists get to enjoy the prestige & legitimacy of institutional awards because… https://t.co/oAI7bJEFfB— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈) 1624582418
@MrWinMarshall Good luck Winston! It’s a shame that people in today’s society can’t just listen to others perspecti… https://t.co/J3oD9Ily2E— Charlie Ahrens (@Charlie Ahrens) 1624544717
Others were not so fussed and thought his support of Ngo warranted the backlash:
@MrWinMarshall “All I did was like and agree with a known fascist who puts leftists on atomwaffen kill lists. How c… https://t.co/WPX5o30l6x— Extra Sauce Queen Li’l 🌳 (@Extra Sauce Queen Li’l 🌳) 1624567436
@MrWinMarshall Winston, can I just say how brave you are for speaking up about this. For too long have guys who pla… https://t.co/f3ywAmYTw5— What the fuck are you lot even on about (@What the fuck are you lot even on about) 1624553616
@MrWinMarshall Not bothered whether he leaves them or not. It’s the attempt to make an equivalence between the actu… https://t.co/Pqqgs5jl3i— Gina Super-Mild™️ (@Gina Super-Mild™️) 1624552912
No one gives a shit https://t.co/u0oZFLiIOb— 😎 (@😎) 1624566182
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 https://t.co/q7KlaxzYLw— Jon (@Jon) 1624585968
lol what the fuck does this mean? https://t.co/HBg9H6mVmg https://t.co/Dus3ZLpD4i— Chikichika chu chikichika chu (@Chikichika chu chikichika chu) 1624576205
“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 (@John-Michael Bond) 1624558767
We’ll wait and see what the banjo player does next.
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