It’s a dangerous time to be a free-thinking person in the entertainment industry. Numerous artists across various industries have been canceled for daring to go against the woke narratives of the left. Even artists who don’t identify as conservative have been devoured by their own for going against the party line.
It doesn’t take speaking out, either. Something as innocuous as liking a Tweet has resulted in loss of livelihood. Former Mumford and Sons guitarist Winston Marshall is a prime example.
Despite being the co-founder of the popular folk-rock band, he made the mistake of Tweeting support for a book by conservative author Andy Ngo. The book, which unmasked and explored the left-wing radicalism of Antifa, called “Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy” struck a chord with Marshall, but when he recommended it, the outcry was such that he decided to leave the band so as not to drag it into controversy.
Marshall, who knows first-hand what it feels like to feel the wrath of the woke left, recently talked about his support for artists who are daring to cross that line and let their real feelings be known. Oliver Anthony of “Rich Men North of Richmond” fame has been a recent target for wokesters, and Marshall defended him in an interview recently.
Rolling Stone magazine wrote an unflattering article about Anthony that hit a nerve with Marshall. He said: “Oliver Anthony, for example, working-class guy, has this song which resonates with millions upon millions – not just in America, but across the world, people – the left-behind working classes. And they just can’t even process it. So they sort of embarrassed themselves.”
Anthony, who claims to be neither a Democrat nor Republican, was attacked by the magazine. They claimed, “Right Wing Influencers Just Found Their Favorite New Country Song.” The hit piece claimed that the song appealed to “right-wing influencers” in part because Anthony “rails against high taxes and the value of the dollar, but also wades into some Reagan-era talking points about welfare.”
Marshall took exception to the piece by the once-respected music magazine and said in a scathing takedown: “You’re certainly seeing a massive gap between the media and the people. And I wrote about this, particularly the response by Rolling Stone Magazine, if you could see that they attempted a takedown of Oliver Anthony… they’re the magazine that used to be the voice of counterculture. Now they don’t know counterculture when it slaps them in the face.”
Marshall went on to discuss shock-rock legend Alice Cooper. Recently, Cooper has been under fire for his remarks on the transgender movement in America. Cooper wasn’t inflammatory or hateful but still lost his endorsement with Vampyre Cosmetics.
Cooper called the movement a “fad,” to which Marshall elaborated. He said: “All of those things were true. And you have it happened to Alice Cooper this summer. Vampyre Cosmetics… dropped him because he said… ‘Just because you identify as a tree, doesn’t mean you are one,’ or something along those lines. There still remains professional punishment for saying things that are true but are not correct, according to progressive orthodoxies.”
Marshall has moved on and now hosts a successful podcast, “Marshall Matters,” which allows him a platform to say whatever is on his mind without fear of cancellation. He sees some hope on the horizon for free thought and free speech in the music industry. He said: “On a more positive note, instead of sort of sh—ing on everyone, I’m very excited that there are artists who are now writing freely, singing freely about these things,” Marshall said. “And I sense the tide now turning and the story of Oliver Anthony’s, there’s so many things that are incredible about Oliver Anthony, not just that he writes beautiful songs, he has an incredible voice, but this guy’s reading Scripture in media.”
More artists like Anthony and Marshall, along with stalwarts like Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, and others, give hope that music can return to being enjoyed without worrying about the content upsetting the left.
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
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