Chester Bennington’s son has blasted Mike Shinoda over the decision to reunite Linkin Park.
Last week, co-founder Shinoda announced that the band would be reforming with Emily Armstrong as the new co-lead vocalist after a seven-year hiatus following the death of Bennington in July 2017. The singer died by suicide at the age of 41.
Taking to his Instagram Stories on Monday, Bennington’s son Jaime voiced his disapproval over Shinoda’s choices.
“Hey Mike! People aren’t having a difficult time wrapping their head around the prospect of Linkin Park reinventing itself,” he began. “They are having a hard time wrapping their head around how you: Hired your friend of many years @emilyarmstrong to replace @chesterbe knowing Emily’s history in the church and her history as an ally to @dannymasterson is what it is.”
Jaime is referring to Armstrong’s links to the Church of Scientology and her initial support of Danny Masterson at his trial following sexual assault charges.
However, in a recent statement shared online, the Dead Sara frontwoman insisted she had cut ties with the That ’70s Show actor, noting she had “misjudged him” and hadn’t spoken to him since the court case. In September 2023, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
Elsewhere in his outburst, Jaime also accused Shinoda of “quietly erasing my father’s life and legacy in real time… during international suicide prevention month” and refusing “to acknowledge the impact of hiring someone like Emily, without so much as a clarifying statement on the variety of victims that make up your core fan base”.
While in another comment, Jaime, 28, claimed Shinoda “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,” he fired.
Representatives for Shinoda and Linkin Park have not yet responded to Jaime’s comments.
Linkin Park’s first concert with Armstrong is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. The band’s new album, From Zero, is set to drop on 15 November.
