Chester Bennington’s Son Confronts ‘Cruel’ and ‘Aggressive’ Linkin Park Fans After He Slammed Lead Singer Emily Armstrong: ‘People Are Saying Awful S—‘
Chester Bennington’s son Jaime said on his Instagram story that some Linkin Park fans have become aggressive towards him after he spoke out against Emily Armstrong becoming the band’s new lead vocalist. Chester Bennington, who served as Linkin Park’s lead singer for over a decade, died in 2017 by suicide. Jamie criticized Armstrong’s hiring due in part to her ties with Scientology and her previous support of 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 do not like me. There are a lot of people saying some really awful shit right now to me,” Jamie said. “To be honest, I don’t think I feel safe going to the show under general admission because I don’t know who I’m around. I don’t know who would recognize me or take it upon themselves to respond to me in an aggressive manner when I’m just there to see the show. But I do need to see it.”
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Linkin Park is gearing up to release new music for the first time since Chester’s death. With Armstrong as lead vocalist, the band will release a new album and a supporting tour dubbed “From Zero.” Linkin Park will be playing a show in Los Angeles on Sept. 11, which Jamie plans to attend amid the harassment from fans.
“The audience themselves could be unsafe for me. … I do feel it’s necessary to acknowledge the severity of my situation, the ways in which people choose to interact with me,” Jamie said. “So many of these Linkin Park fans who will be attending have been cruel, unusual and aggressive.”
“All these people come over to me and go, ‘You don’t know what your dad would think,” he continued later. “You’re coming over to my posts and my livestreams and telling me to kill myself, that I’m awful, that my father doesn’t appreciate me. What are you talking about? You didn’t give a fuck when he died. If you did, you would understand what the problem is. You would understand why this is all wrong. I do because I’m his kid.”
In a follow-up statement posted to his Instagram story, Jamie wrote to Linkin Park fans: “While attending the show please do not harass me or my partner. Respectfully, we are attending for closure.”
“If anything happens to me or my partner while we are attending this concert, it is on Linkin Park,” he concluded.
In his original statements on Armstrong’s hiring, Jamie wrote that Linkin Park had “quietly erased my father’s life and legacy in real time… during international suicide prevention month.” He added that the band had “betrayed the trust” of the fanbase who “trusted you to be the bigger 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 Sept. 6 because she “wanted to clear the air” about supporting Masterson.
“I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer. Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have,” she wrote, adding that she hasn’t connected with Masterson since. “To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”
Linkin Park is now scheduled for a six-date arena tour with concerts that include stops in Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg, London, Seoul and Bogota. The band’s new album will arrive Nov. 15.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
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