Chester Bennington's son, Jamie, said on his Instagram account that some Linkin Park fans became hostile toward him after he spoke out against Emily Armstrong becoming the band's new lead singer. Chester Bennington, who served as Linkin Park's lead singer for more than a decade, died by suicide in 2017. Jamie had criticized Armstrong's hiring in part because of her ties to Scientology and her past support for Danny Masterson, who was convicted of raping two women and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
“There are a lot of people who don’t like me. There are a lot of people who are saying really horrible things to me right now,” Jamie said. “To be honest, I don’t think I feel safe going to the show in public because I don’t know who’s around. I don’t know who’s going to recognize me or take it upon themselves to respond to me in an aggressive way when I’m just there to watch the show. But I need to see it.”
Linkin Park is preparing to release new music for the first time since Chester's death. With Armstrong as lead singer, the band will release a new album and a supporting tour titled “From Zero.” Linkin Park will play a show in Los Angeles on September 11, which Jimmy plans to attend amid fan harassment.
“The audience itself can be unsafe for me… I feel it's important to acknowledge the gravity of my situation, and the ways people choose to interact with me,” Jimmy said. “A lot of the Linkin Park fans who will be at the concert have been rude, unusual and aggressive.”
“All these people come up to me and say, ‘You don’t know what your dad would think,’” he continued later. “You come to my posts and my livestreams and tell me to kill myself, that I’m horrible, that my dad doesn’t appreciate me. What are you talking about? You didn’t care when he died. If you were, you would understand what the problem is. You would understand why this is all wrong. I’m doing this because I’m his son.”
In a later statement posted to his Instagram account, Jimmy wrote to Linkin Park fans: “While you are at the show, please do not harass me or my partner. With all due respect, we are preparing to close this matter.”
“If anything happens to me or my partner while we're at this concert, it's going to be at Linkin Park,” he concluded.
In his original statements regarding Armstrong's appointment, Jimi wrote that Linkin Park “quietly erased my father's life and legacy in real time… during International Suicide Prevention Month.” He added that the band “betrayed the trust” of a fan base who “trusted you to be the better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention.” He concluded, “Now you're just senile and tone deaf.”
Armstrong issued her own statement on September 6 because she “wanted to clear the air” about supporting Masterson.
“I was asked to support someone I considered a friend in court, and I went to one of the early hearings as an observer. Shortly after, I realized I shouldn’t have done that,” she wrote, adding that she has not been in contact with Masterson since. “Let me be as clear as possible: I do not support abuse or violence against women, and I sympathize with the victims of these crimes.”
Linkin Park is now scheduled to embark on a six-date tour that includes concerts in Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg, London, Seoul and Bogota. The band's new album is due out on November 15.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
