Chester Bennington’s Son, Jamie, Pushes Back on Linkin Park Reunion
Chester Bennington’s son Jaime says he doesn’t approve of the new Linkin Park new lineup, and some fans want him to keep quiet. – Author: Charles Ken, Photo via James Minchin III
Chester Bennington’s son Jaime says he doesn’t approve of the new Linkin Park new lineup, and some fans want him to keep quiet. Jamie took to his Instagram story to say that that some Linkin Park fans have expressed anger towards him after he made his voice heard on this thoughts about Emily Armstrong becoming the group’s new lead vocalist.
Linkin Park founding vocalist Chester Bennington passed away in 2017 by suicide. After Linkin Park came out and announced a new lineup, tour and album, Jamie criticized the hiring of Armstrong for a few reasons. For one, Jamie is critical of 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 behind bars.
“There are a lot of people who do not like me. There are a lot of people saying some really awful [expletive] right now to me,” Jamie said in the Instagram story. “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.”
Linkin Park, with Armstrong as co-vocalist, will release a new album called “From Zero” this November. The band will also play a show in Los Angeles on Sept. 11, and Jamie plans to go, even though he feels it might be “unsafe.”
“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.”
He later added, “All these people come over to me and go, ‘You don’t know what your dad would think.’ 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 f*** 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 also on 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.” He added, “If anything happens to me or my partner while we are attending this concert, it is on Linkin Park.”
In his first statements about the Linkin Park revunion, Jamie wrote that Linkin Park had “quietly erased my father’s life and legacy in real time… during international suicide prevention month.”
Armstrong sent out her own statement on Sept. 6 “to clear the air” about her connection to 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 stated, also saying she hasn’t seen or talked 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.”
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