Linkin Park has made several headlines in the past week with the announcement of a new lineup, album and tour and also the controversial connection their new singer has to both Scientology and disgraced actor Danny Masterson.
Emily Armstrong has been tapped as the replacement for the late Chester Bennington, and now Bennington’s son Jamie has ripped Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda for “betraying trust” of the band’s fans.
NME reported that Jamie made several comment via Instagram Stories. He first shared a screenshot of Shinoda’s comments that fans may need “time to wrap their heads” around the new lineup and that those who “disrespect” him will “lose my respect in return.”
Jamie wrote: “Hey Mike! People aren’t having a difficult time wrapping their head around the prospect of Linkin Park reinventing itself. They are having a hard time wrapping their head around how you: Hired your friend of many years @emilyarmstrong to replace @chesterbe knowing Emily’s history in the church and her history as an ally to @dannymasterson.”
Jamie also accused Shinoda of “Quietly erasing my father’s life and legacy in real time, during international suicide prevention month” and “refusing to acknowledge the impact of hiring someone like Emily, without so much as a clarifying statement on the variety of victims that make up your core fan base.”
In another post, Jamie said the decision isn’t “a shock that people are just going to have to take time to process and understand,” that it’s rather something that “betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself. We trusted you to be the bigger better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone deaf.”
He also added: “My perspective on the matter is that… I’ve never seen the band allow for ‘Respectful’ resistance. I’ve never seen the band allow third-party perspective in the conversation. The pattern says that historically, people who express alternative views to the mainstream narrative are marginalized and shut down…I DO NOT SUPPORT.”
