As a result of my actions, I am taking time away from the band to examine my blindspots. "I have offended not only a lot of people I don't know, but also those closest to me, including my bandmates and for that I am truly sorry. "Over the past few days, I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed," Marshall said in a statement. The news comes after Marshall received backlash for praising Andy Ngo, the conservative writer of the book Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. The 33-year-old musician tweeted the announcement on Tuesday, March 9. Winston Marshall is taking a break from Mumford & Sons. "I have no doubt that their stars will shine long into the future." "I leave with love in my heart and I wish those three boys nothing but the best," he added. In his recent Medium message, Mashall wrote that "commenting on a book that documents the extreme Far-Left and their activities is in no way an endorsement of the equally repugnant Far-Right." As for his decision to permanently leave the band, he expressed his hope that in "distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences." While the group's members invited him to stay, Marshall announced in March that he was temporarily "taking time away from the band," apologizing for offending "not only a lot of people I don't know, but also those closest to me." Unintentionally, I had pulled them into a divisive and totemic issue." "The distress brought to them and their families that weekend I regret very much. "That name was being dragged through some pretty ugly accusations, as a result of my tweet," he continued. Looking back, Marshall remembered receiving "tens of thousands of angry retweets and comments." And while the band consisted of four members, the banjo player noted it's singer Marcus Mumford's "name on the tin." "I believed this tweet to be as innocuous as the others. "Posting about books had been a theme of my social-media throughout the pandemic," Marshall recalled. The move comes about three months after Marshall received backlash for praising Andy Ngo, the conservative writer who penned Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy, in a tweet. The musician announced the news in a message posted to Medium on June 24. In the meantime, Mumford has made other friends while recording Self-Titled, collaborating with Phoebe Bridgers, Brandi Carlile, and Clairo, on top of one Steven Spielberg.UPDATE: Winston Marshall is officially leaving Mumford & Sons. (In fact, he’d showed some of his new music to members of the band, but they recommended he record it himself due to the personal subject matter lead single “Cannibal,” Mumford told GQ, is about reckoning with being sexually abused as a child.) The band will go on as a trio with bassist Ted Dwane and pianist Ben Lovett. Mumford confirmed that his solo album doesn’t mean the end of Mumford & Sons. So, I, you know, I don’t want to get into an argument with these guys at all. “I think if you present like a cunt and you are an angry man, particularly at this time, an angry, older, white man - I’m just fucking bored of it, man,” Mumford said. “I think you can disagree and work together.” Mumford clarified that while he takes issue with “a lot of” Marshall’s politics, what really bothers him is “the way of interacting” valued by people who share Marshall’s views. “I actually really begged him not to leave,” he told GQ. Now, ahead of Marcus Mumford’s solo album, Self-Titled (out September 16), Mumford has clarified that he disagrees with Marshall’s politics but supports him nonetheless. (Lately, per his Twitter, that has meant criticizing trans people’s right to exist.) At the time, the rest of the band stayed pretty quiet about it aside from confirming Marshall’s exit. Just over a year ago, Mumford & Sons lost a son when banjoist Winston Marshall quit the band - controversially, so he wouldn’t have to “self-censor” his alt-right-leaning, often dangerous views. Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
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