Winston Marshall, the banjo player and lead guitarist of the Grammy-winning British band Mumford & Sons, has been slammed on social media after tweeting his support for controversial right-wing writer Andy Ngo.
Ngo, a conservative journalist who rose to prominence filming left-wing protests in Portland, has become notorious for his associations with the neo-fascist white nationalist groups the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.
In a now-deleted tweet, Marshall, who also goes by the music aliases Country Winston and WN5TN, congratulated Ngo on the publication of his book Unmasked, which promises to take the reader “inside ANTIFA’s radical plan to destroy democracy.”
“Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man,” Marshall tweeted, before deleting the message following a backlash and intense mockery of the band.
One user wrote in a similarly-deleted reply to Marshall’s tweet, “I may be naive, but “Banjo player from Mumford & Sons Comes Out As Nazi” was not a headline I foresaw…”
There were also calls to fire Marshall from the band. “One of my favorite bands is trending bc the banjo player once again made it clear he likes fascist propaganda. He’s not representative of the whole band, but the silence from Mumford & Sons on this has gone on too long. #AdoptANewBanjoPlayer,” one user tweeted.
This is not the first time Marshall and Mumford & Sons have courted controversy for associating with notorious right-wing personalities. Back in 2018, the band invited Canadian academic Jordan Peterson, who has been accused of transphobia, misogyny and Islamophobia, to visit their London studios.
After pictures of Peterson and members of the band appeared on social media, Marshall told a Canadian radio station, “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.”
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