Chester Bennington’s son Jaime hits out at Mike Shinoda for “betraying trust” of Linkin Park fans with Emily Armstrong

The comments follow Linkin Park announcing their comeback through a livestream event last Thursday (September 5) – debuting Emily Armstrong, formerly of Dead Sara, as their new singer.

The reveal followed weeks of speculation after the band shared a mysterious countdown with fans. Their surprise return saw them perform a new song called ‘The Emptiness Machine’ and a few Linkin Park classics, announce a new album ‘From Zero’ and share details of a short world tour.

Armstrong joins the line-up in place of late vocalist Chester Bennington, who died in 2017. Initially, the reception was largely positive among fellow artists and fans, but controversy soon arose after it emerged that the singer seemingly had ties to Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson. This was brought to light after a message sent to Armstrong by The Mars Volta and former At The Drive-In frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala recirculated over the weekend.

In another post shared by Bixler-Zavala over the weekend, he wrote: “I fucking told you.”

His wife, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, had accused Masterson of raping her while they were in a relationship, having testified in 2022. She previously issued a separate civil lawsuit against him, and took to Instagram on September 7 to share screenshots highlighting Armstrong’s ties to Masterson.

In response, Armstrong stated her Instagram Stories. “I wanted to clear the air about something that happened a while back. Several years ago, 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.

“I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged and he was later found guilty. 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.”

Now, Jaime Bennington – the son of the late frontman – has taken to social media to share his thoughts on the reformation with Armstrong, and criticise Shinoda for “betraying” Linkin Park fans with the decision.

Taking to his Instagram Stories last night (September 8), Bennington shared a screenshot of recent comments made by Shinoda in which the founding member addressed how fans may need “time to wrap their heads around” the band reforming with Armstrong. In the comments, Shinoda also said that those who “disrespect” him due to the decision will “lose my respect in return”.