Former Mumford and Sons star Winston Marshall has criticised Olly Alexander’s “abhorrent” take on Israel.
It comes as the BBC faces calls to drop the singer as Britain’s Eurovision representative, after he put his name to a letter that accused Israel of genocide.
The letter attacked the Israeli military response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, and was published just under two weeks after the massacre, in which more than 1,200 people died.
Speaking on GB News, Marshall questioned why the singer appeared not to speak out on Hamas atrocities.
Winston Marshall says Olly Alexander should not be booted off Eurovision
GETTY / WINSTON MARSHALL
“The letter was not two weeks after the October 7 massacre. It is worth reading”, he said.
“In the letter, they describe Israel committing ‘genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing’.
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The signer, who was announced as the UK’s entrant to the competition last week, signed a letter which called Israel an “apartheid regime” and criticised “Zionist propaganda”PA“If you really believe this, you don’t know what genocide, apartheid or ethnic cleansing means. It is an anti-Semitic letter. It is explicitly anti-Zionist.
“It is also quite a comical letter. It says criminalisation of homosexuality comes from colonialism. They’re right, but not how they think. If they had read the Quran, they will realise the colonialisation of Islam has been fundamental in making homosexuality illegal.”
Speaking on whether the “very talented” singer should be removed from Eurovision, Marshall says this should not be the case as it further exacerbates a cancel culture in Britain.
“As someone who abhors what he said and what this letter says, I think we cannot cancel people”, he said.
“Just because we disagree with them. If he was actually inciting violence, we could draw a line.
“But no, he is right to his opinion. If Britain stands for anything, it’s the liberal idea of freedom of speech. It’s an old British value we must stand by.
“We must not silence Olly Alexander.”
Since the attacks, the BBC has faced criticism for its coverage, particularly its failure to condemn Hamas as terrorists.
The corporation has citied its “founding principles” in its decision to not do so, arguing they are letting the audience “make up their own minds”.
It has resulted in criticism from the Government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak even calling on the BBC to address the matter.
