Chester Bennington’s Son Is Fuming At Linkin Park’s Decision To Replace Dad With New Singer

There was mixed reaction to Linkin Park reuniting with Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong as lead singer last week, and now the late Chester Bennington’s son has weighed in with his own views on his dad’s replacement.

Jamie Bennington, 28, aired his grievances on Instagram Stories, taking aim at Mike Shinoda specifically:

“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.”

Yikes. Bennington is of course making reference to Emily Armstrong’s ties so Scientology and her support of That 70’s Show’s Danny Masterson amid his sexual assault trial (which, in fairness, she’s since addressed and apologised for).

Jaime Bennington 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 message, Jaime Bennington said Shinoda “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.”

Welp, not ideal really. It seems his issue is more with the person that Linkin Park chose to replace his father with, rather than the decision to replace him itself. Do people really hate Scientology that much? Is it really so bad that Emily Armstrong was backing her good pal Danny Masterson before she was aware of the full facts of the situation? Could it be that Jamie Bennington is overreacting a little bit?

Maybe he wanted to be involved in the selection process, who knows? Can’t be easy seeing someone come in and replace your dead dad in one of the most legendary bands of all time, no matter who it is. As far as “quietly erasing” Chester Bennington’s legacy (during suicide prevention month, no less!), I don’t think Mike Shinoda could do that even if he tried. Come on Jamie! Give the new girl a chance.