Son Of Linkin Park Vocalist Lashes Out At Band
After a seven-year hiatus following lead singer Chester Bennington’s suicide, Linkin Park is finally back—and not everyone’s happy about it. No sooner did the band announce they were officially returning to work with new vocalist Emily Armstrong than the backlash started. Now, Chester’s son Jaime is voicing his disappointment in the band’s new lineup, and he’s not pulling punches.
Not Happy About The Addition Of Emily Armstrong
“You quietly erased my father’s life and legacy in real time… during international suicide prevention month,” Jaimie said in a September 9 Instagram story directed at Linkin Park’s de facto leader, Mike Shinoda. Bennington accused Shinoda of violating his fan’s trust and went so far as to call him “senile and tone deaf.” Bennington clarified that he’s not offended by the idea of Linkin Park continuing as a band but that he has problems with new vocalist Emily Armstrong specifically.
The Danny Masterson Connection
Jaime is not the only one upset at the band’s new lead singer. Many fans immediately expressed concerns about Armstrong after learning she was joining Linkin Park. Mainly it’s the vocalist’s ties to Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson that’s leaving a bad taste in most people’s mouths. The former Dead Sara singer supported Masterson during the preliminary hearings leading up to his 2020 trial.
Armstrong herself recently took to Instagram to address the topic. “Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and I went to one early hearing as an observer.” The new Linkin Park singer claimed she realized immediately after the hearing that she shouldn’t have shown up to support Masterson.
Armstrong blamed the bad decision on her habit of always looking for “the good in people.”
Not Everyone’s Convinced
The singer went on to say that she does not “condone abuse or violence against women,” and she empathizes with the “victims of these crimes.” Not everyone was convinced by Armstrong’s words of compassion. The Mars Volta member Cedric Bixler-Zavala posted some particularly nasty screen grabs of his previous comments regarding Armstrong following the Linkin Park singer’s confession.
“Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson? Your rapist friend,” Bixler-Zavala wrote on Dead Sara’s Instagram page last year. Bixler-Zavala’s wife, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, was one of several women to come forward with sexual assault accusations against Masterson.
Bixler-Zavala also commented about Armstrong’s “fellow scientologist goon squad” menacing one of the women involved in Masterson’s trial when she was trying to leave the courthouse.
Mike Shinoda Sticks To His Decision
For his part, Jaimie Bennington declined to get as specific as Bixler Zavala when referring to Armstrong’s problematic past. Bennington vaguely referenced the new Linkin Park singer’s history “in the church” and as an “ally to Danny Masterson” while accusing Shinoda of only hiring her because they were longtime friends.
Shinoda recently admitted to Billboard that fans might not immediately take to Linkin Park’s new singer but declined to mention her problematic past. Instead, Shinoda seemed to imply that fans might reject Armstrong because she sounds different, but they’d eventually come to accept her.
Like It Or Not, Armstrong Is Here To Stay
Whether fans come around on the band’s new vocalist remains to be seen. It’s clear, though, that the band has no plans to get rid of Armstrong anytime soon. Her first performance with the band is scheduled for September 11, and she’s already recorded a new album, From Zero, with Linkin Park, their first since 2017’s One More Light.
Source: Instragram
