Mumford & Sons guitarist and banjo player Winston Marshall is officially no longer a member of the band.
Earlier this year, Marshall tweeted a message of support to Andy Ngo, a controversial right-wing figure who has been accused of lying and selectively editing footage in an attempt to discredit the antifascist movement Antifa, as well as deliberately provoking left-wing protestors. In the since-deleted tweet, Marshall called Ngo “brave,” and congratulated him on the release of his book, titled Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.
A few days later, Marshall apologized for the tweet, and announced he was “taking time away” from Mumford & Sons. Now, in a Medium post, Marshall has announced that he’s quit the “Little Lion Man” group altogether.
The post details some of Marshall’s earliest Mumford & Sons memories before transitioning into why he originally posted the tweet and reflecting on the criticism he received.
“I’ve had plenty of abuse over the years,” Marshall writes. “I’m a banjo player after all. But this was another level. And, owing to our association, my friends, my bandmates, were getting it too. It took me more than a moment to understand how distressing this was for them.”
In leaving Mumford & Sons, Marshall hopes to freely “speak [his] mind” on “controversial issues” without his band mates “suffering the consequences.”
“I leave with love in my heart and I wish those three boys nothing but the best,” he says.
In their own Instagram post, Mumford & Sons write, “We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man.”
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