The late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s son, Jaime Bennington, is courting controversy in the music world as he recently blasted the band’s decision to choose Emily Armstrong for the role of new lead singer. This decision, as it came in International Suicide Prevention Month, has only added to concern about Jaime. His father died by suicide back in 2017. Finally, frustrated, Jaime took to Instagram and accused the band of deleting his dad’s legacy while definitely not taking into consideration this choice of the fans who are still grieving about Chester.
He felt this was insensitive on the band’s part, just upping and bringing in a new singer, especially during a month earmarked for mental health and suicide prevention.
“Choosing this moment to move on feels like a betrayal,”
Jaime wrote. He felt that was a diminishment of the bond that still exists between the fans and his father’s work and memory. With his unique voice and vulnerability, Chester Bennington had turned himself into an icon to millions of people, and with regard to the timing, this was a decision that felt very poorly thought out and disconnected from the band’s history to Jaime.
The fans of Linkin Park are divided on it. While most people understand where Jaime’s feelings are coming from, others find this a natural step further after so many years of silence. Some took to social media to say they sided with Emily Armstrong and that Linkin Park has a right to keep making music, even though Chester is gone. Others said they agreed with Jaime, as no one could substitute for Chester in the band.
“Linkin Park will never be the same w/o Chester and this feels like a rushed and disrespectful choice,”
one fan wrote, while another countered,
“Chester would want the music to move on. Give Emily a chance.”
The fact is that much of the controversy with Armstrong is not just from the decision to remove Chester but from her own background.
Armstrong is the lead vocalist of the rock band Dead Sara. Previously, she had been embroiled in some controversy when she attended a court hearing in support of convicted rapist actor Danny Masterson back in 2023. Masterson was a longtime friend of Armstrong’s and had been in the Church of Scientology, further complicating this issue because the church was also associated with covering up his crimes.
Armstrong later said she was there because she showed up for a friend and, at the time, didn’t know the full extent of the charges against Masterson. Since the entire sordid tale of Masterson’s crimes has been revealed, she has taken steps to backpedal and steer clear of Masterson and the church.
“I do not condone violence in any form, especially against women, and I stand with the victims,”
Armstrong said.
“I wish I had known more before attending.
That hasn’t stemmed the backlash, though, as many question whether her association with Masterson, and by association with Scientology, makes her a good match for a group as popular as Linkin Park. Well, according to Jaime Bennington, Armstrong’s past is always looming over the future of the band.
He has, without a doubt, denounced Armstrong’s involvement with Masterson and Scientology as “disturbing.” The thought of someone like him, carrying such baggage, filling his father’s shoes, is off-kilter.
“It’s not about the voice; it’s about the values,”
he said. His critique brought up the need for preservation of Chester’s legacy entwined very much in the message of struggle, redemption, and a fight for mental health.
He didn’t stop there; Jaime even voiced his disappointment with Shinoda, the cofounder of the band and longtime friend of Armstrong. Jaime said Shinoda’s handling has been “tone-deaf.” The fact that Mike Shinoda was in such a leading position within the band and had known Chester personally should have served to bring a more considerate view of the emotional consequences such a move carried.
“He knows better,”
Jaime said.
“It’s not about having somebody fill in for the band; this is legacy, healing-it’s respect to my dad’s memory.”
Linkin Park fans also have chimed in on that aspect-some in defense of Shinoda continuing to make music and others with similar concerns as Jaime.
The emotional weight considerations of Chester Bennington’s legacy and in which direction the band was going to go to are literally at the core of this issue. For a great number of fans, Chester was much more than just a frontman in the band: he was a symbol of strength, frailty, and openness to mental health struggles. His passing left a hole both in the band and among its fans that neither of them could fill.
The decision of Linkin Park to go for Emily Armstrong makes for a difficult one now that Jaime has placed himself in the line of duty, vocal about protecting his father’s legacy. Sure, Armstrong is talented and boasts a lot of experience in the music industry, but her troubled past does not make things easy in an already sensitive situation.
