Linkin Park’s late lead singer Chester Bennington’s son has lashed out at the band for recruiting singer Emily Armstrong as their new vocalist.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Jaime Bennington, the son of late Chester Bennington, wrote that Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda had erased his father’s life and legacy.
Taking aim at Emily Armstrong over her past ties with the Church of Scientology and her support of Danny Masterson, Bennington said that Linkin Park erased the legacy of his father, that too during suicide prevention month.
“You have betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself. We trusted you to be the bigger better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone deaf. Insane,” he wrote.
Jaime Bennington went on to assert that the band “failed to address the concerns of their diverse fan base” and their recent actions “are not something people should acclimate to.”
It is worth mentioning here that Linkin Park has been receiving severe backlash following the recruitment of Emily Armstrong.
The singer, who co-founded the rock band Dead Sara, made her Linkin Park debut in a live performance on September 5 alongside new drummer Colin Brittain.
Reacting to the backlash, Shinoda expressed his understanding of the public shock and outrage while urging for respectful discussion.
A day earlier guitarist Brad Delson announced to quit the band’s reunion tour.
Delson, drummer Rob Bourdon and Shinoda started Linkin Park together when they were in high school in the early 90s.
They later added current members Joe Hahn and Dave ‘Phoenix’ Farrell to the band. Frontman Chester Bennington joined the band in 1999, however, his death in 2017 led Linkin Park to take a long seven-year hiatus.
Taking to Instagram, guitarist Brad Delson revealed that he will not perform live with the Grammy-winning band.
“While I will not be performing on tour in this new chapter, I am super excited to introduce Alex—my handsome deputy on the road. Alex is a world-class musician, a kind and thoughtful friend, and we are truly fortunate he’ll be contributing his unique talent to our LP universe,” he stated.
