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Earlier this month, Linkin Park debuted Emily Armstrong as their new lead singer, replacing the late Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in 2017.
The response to Armstrong joining Linkin Park has been mixed — fans dug up the fact that she used to be supportive of former That 70’s Show and convicted rapist Danny Masterson. Armstrong addressed the criticism on Instagram, saying she misjudged him.
Then there was the reaction of Chester Bennington’s son Jamie, who was also critical of Armstrong’s inclusion in the band as he took to Instagram to call out Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda for ‘erasing his father’s legacy in real-time’
It hasn’t gotten any smoother for Armstrong and Linkin Park since then, as Bennington’s mother released a statement, via Rolling Stone, saying that she felt “betrayed.” Bennington’s mother Susan Eubanks also said she “cried” after hearing Armstrong “screeching her way through a very high note.” Yikes.
“I feel betrayed. They told me that if they were ever going to do something, they would let me know. They didn’t let me know, and they probably knew that I wouldn’t going to be very happy. I’m very upset about it,” Eubanks said.
“I feel like they’re trying very hard to erase the past. They’re performing songs that Chester sang. And I don’t know how the fans are taking it, but I know how I take it. And having [Armstrong] singing my son’s songs is hurtful.”
Eubanks also said that Armstrong joining the band reminds her of her son previously worrying the band was going to replace him with a female lead singer, accusing bandmate Mike Shinoda of “often putting Chester down.”
“Mike [Shinoda] told Chester one time that he thought singing these songs would be better with a girl, because he often put Chester down. And Chester called me and said, ‘He thinks that they’re going to replace me with a girl.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said Mike told him at rehearsal that, ‘If you decide you’re leaving, we’re going to replace you with a girl,’” she explained.
“And Chester was dumbfounded and hurt. And the fact is that now they did it. So, of course, all that comes right back into my mind. I had a talk with my son about this. I didn’t think they’d probably do it.”
Linkin Park announced a new album titled From Zero and a subsequent tour, which has stops in the United States in addition to Germany, England, South Korea, and Colombia.