Jaime Bennington, the son of late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, has spoken out against the group’s founder Mike Shinoda’s decision to bring singer Emily Armstrong into the band.
Jaime, 28, said he found Armstrong’s ties to Scientology and his past support of actor Danny Masterson problematic. Masterson was convicted of rape and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.
“People have no problem understanding that Linkin Park is reinventing itself,” Jaime said Sunday, according to Page Six.
He added: “They are having a hard time understanding how you: 1) hired your longtime girlfriend @emilyarmstrong to [Chester].
Jaime Bennington, 28, the son of late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, has spoken out against the music group’s founder Mike Shinoda, 47, for hiring singer Emily Armstrong, 38, in the band
Shinoda and Armstrong photographed on stage in LA earlier this month
Jaime said the music group “refuses to acknowledge the impact of hiring someone like Emily.” Emily later said she “misread” the Masterson situation and believed she was “supporting a friend.”
Jaime said Shinoda, 47, mistimed the announcement that Armstrong would join the band in September. Suicide Prevention Month.
Jaime said Shinoda and his associates had “silently” covered up the case. [his] “my father’s life and legacy in real time” and “has betrayed the trust that decades of fans and others, including myself, have placed in you.”
He added: “We trusted you to be the bigger, better person… because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and toneless. Insane.”
Armstrong, who once led the group Dead Sara, said on Instagram Stories on Sunday that she “should not have supported” Masterson by attending one of his court hearings.
“I always try to see the good in people, but I misjudged him,” she said. “I’ve never spoken to him since.
“When he was later found guilty, unimaginable details emerged. To put it as plainly as possible, I do not condone abuse or violence against women and I sympathize with the victims of these crimes.”
The band announced Thursday that they are reuniting, with Armstrong on lead vocals and Colin Brittain replacing Rob Bourdon on drums, saying the latter “has decided to withdraw” from the group. AP reported.
Chester Bennington – who committed suicide on July 20, 2017 at age 41 – was photographed in NYC on February 21, 2017
Jaime said Shinoda and his associates had “silently” covered up the case. [his] my father’s life and legacy in real time’ and ‘betrayed the trust that decades of fans and supporters, including myself, had placed in you’
The group recently released a song titled The Emptiness Machine, taken from their upcoming album Zero, out on November 15th.
Armstrong, who once led the group Dead Sara, said on Instagram Stories on Sunday that she “shouldn’t have supported” Masterson by attending one of his court hearings
The group recently released a song titled The Emptiness Machine, taken from their upcoming album Zero, due out November 15th.
Linkin Park achieved huge commercial and critical success in the early 2000s with hits such as One Step Closer, In the End and Crawling, the latter of which earned the band a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.
The band won another Grammy in 2006 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Numb/Encore, a collaboration with Jay-Z.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988, texting “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visiting 988lifeline.org.