Three months after announcing that he was stepping away from Mumford & Sons, Winston Marshall said Thursday he has quit the band.
The 33-year-old English musician, the son of billionaire investor Sir Paul Marshall, explained in an essay that he wants to be able to speak without causing “more trouble” for his bandmates.
“My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that,” he wrote. “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.”
In March, Marshall took heat for promoting a book by Andy Ngô, an editor at conservative Canadian website The Post Millennial. He called Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy an “important” book and Ngô “a brave man.”
He issued a public apology for “the pain caused by the book I endorsed” and said he was taking a break “to examine my blindspots.”
In Thursday’s statement, Marshall said he believed the tweet about Unmasked was innocuous but quickly found out “my commenting on a book critical of the Far-Left could be interpreted as approval of the equally abhorrent Far-Right. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
He wrote: “I’ve had plenty of abuse over the years. 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.”
Marshall said he was sorry the band was “dragged through some pretty ugly accusations” and implicated in “a divisive and totemic issue.”
“Emotions were high,” he recalled. "Despite pressure to nix me they invited me to continue with the band. That took courage, particularly in the age of so called ‘cancel culture.’”
Marshall said “another viral mob” attacked him for apologizing and he was falsely labelled “right-wing.”
The musician concluded: “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.”
The band tweeted: "We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man."
We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man. M, B & T. pic.twitter.com/EiXTIkxxL5
— Mumford & Sons (@MumfordAndSons) June 24, 2021