Winston Marshall Is Taking A Break From Mumford & Sons After Praising A Book By Right-Wing Journalist Andy Ngo
I know a bunch of you just responded, “who, meh, and who?” to that headline, so please, let me explain. A few days ago Winston Marshall, the banjo player in Mumford & Sons (not the one married to Carey Mulligan, the one who split from Dianna Agron last year) received a ton of online backlash after voicing his support for the book, “Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy” by Andy Ngo. Andy, a FOX News regular, is known for his super-right-wing reporting on Portland protests and his affiliation with neo-fascist groups the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer. In a (since-deleted) tweet, Winston wrote: “Congratulations @MrAndy Ngo. Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man.” Well, now Winston will have even more time to catch up on his reading, cuz last night he posted an apology and announced that he’s “taking time away from the band to examine my blindspots.”
Here’s Winston’s tweet. His only tweet. He deleted all his other Twitter and Instagram posts:
— Winston Marshall (@MrWinMarshall) March 10, 2021
Obviously, the replies were filled with stuff like, “cancel culture run amuck!”, “yer a Nazi, bro”, “you don’t need to apologize for reading that book”, and “yes, PLEASE, apologize for reading that book!” You know, just a regular Tuesday on Twitter.
This isn’t the first time Winston and his fellow Mumfords & Sons have been connected to right-wing politics. Back in 2018, the band invited Jordan Peterson, an exhausting Canadian right-winger known for his misogynistic/transphobic/Islamophobic views, to visit their London studios. After pictures of them turned up on social media, Winston told a Canadian radio station (via Hollywood Reporter):
“I don’t think that having a photograph with someone means you agree with everything they say.” He added, “Primarily I’m interested in his psychological stuff, which I find very interesting.”
Yes, so interesting. And have you read Mein Kampf? Another fascinating read, purely for historical purposes, of course.
Pic: Wenn.com