https://mrwinstonmarshall.medium.com/why-im-leaving-mumford-sons-e6e731bbc255
To every supporter of cancel culture, to every denier of cancel culture, to every apologist for cancel culture I say this genuinely - FUCK YOU!
"For me to speak about what I’ve learnt to be such a controversial issue will inevitably bring my bandmates more trouble. My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that. 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. 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. I will continue my work with Hong Kong Link Up and I look forward to new creative projects as well as speaking and writing on a variety of issues, challenging as they may be."
The thing that really bothers me about Winston Marshall's departure from Mumford and Sons is that, in all honesty, I assumed that the band pressured him to leave. I was thankfully wrong and I won't be a hypocrite in continuing to enjoy the music; but, in a lot of ways, the reality is more tragic.
The band stood by its friend. It was a lynch mob that fractured the relationship that every member desired to maintain. Marshall's decision was altruistic. It was for the future success of the band that he stepped aside. I can't help but wish that Mumford and Sons would have been brave enough to reject his resignation.
I'm once again reminded of the classic film The Ox-Bow Incident in which an innocent man is hanged without trial because a mob had already deemed him guilty and thought that due process - stepping back and letting the evidence emerge and seeing the big picture - was a vicissitude.
We're experiencing one of the greatest evils that humanity is capable of and we're seeing it several times per week. This needs to stop and it needs to stop now.