It’s an age-old question, one that we now have to increasingly ask ourselves; can you separate the art from the artist? Ever since the #MeToo movement began in 2017, with the revelations about the sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein and Louis C.K., it is being asked with escalating intensity whether you can continue to enjoy an artist’s work after they have been exposed as having engaged in immoral or criminal behaviour. If your favourite novelist, director, sculptor or Tik-Toker turns out to have skeletons in the closet, are you obliged to never engage with them again?
Winston Marshall of cod-gypsy-folk-hedge-fund-pop band, Mumford & Sons, has been caught in a firestorm since tweeting a picture of Andy Ngo’s book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Marshall wrote: “Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man.” Ngo is a delusional right-wing YouTuber whose book was called “supremely dishonest” by the L.A. Times. His use of selectively edited videos and misleading information has led to stringent criticism by publications such as Media Matter and some of his articles have been labelled as false by non-partisan organization Politifact.
Ngo believes that “antifa” are a group of radical, Marxist, anarchist revolutionaries who are seeking to overthrow “western democracy”. He portrays a false equivalence between far-right and supposed far-left violence, despite the fact that since 2010, 330 people have been killed by far-right terrorists and only one by a self-described anti-fascist. Ngo is one of a new generation of digitally fluent conservatives who use social media, misleading or downright false information to portray a pseudo-conspiratorial idea that an ill-defined “far-left” is using so-called culturalist Marxism to radically alter traditional Western society.
Mumford & Sons courted similar controversy when pictured with divisive psychologist, Jordan Peterson, three years ago. Peterson may talk an awful lot of psycho-babble nonsense but he is categorically not a fascist. But this combined with his support for Ngo portrays Marshall as sympathetic to the new, radical and aggressive brand of conservatism that has developed since the mid-90s and accelerated following the presidency of Satsumastein’s Monster Donald Trump. Marshall has since taken a “break” from the band and states that “over the past few days I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed.” Whether that is genuine or PR bollocks is anyone’s guess.
Can you still listen to Mumford and Sons without feeling like you are endorsing the far-right? Well, yes. I doubt Mr. Mumford is a gun toting Qanon supporter. Artistic history is littered with terrible people creating stunning work. Ezra Pound was a disgraceful anti-Semite, but you cannot understand Modernism without reading him. This is a personal choice that sometimes can be hard to make. I was a huge Louis C.K. fan but the idea of watching his stuff now makes me incredibly queasy. Artists are people and people often act in terrible ways. There are of course levels of immorality or controversial opinions. Anybody who would want to watch Jim’ll Fix It now is obviously a psychopath but Marshall’s support of Ngo is not in the same universe. Listen to Sigh No More if you like, just remember it is utterly terrible before you do.
