Iconic rock band Linkin Park has returned after not releasing new music or touring for seven years. While it was never going to be easy for Linkin Park to continue following the tragic suicide of lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017, their 2024 reinvention has gotten off to a rougher start than anyone expected.
While the band spent 2023 celebrating the anniversary of Meteoria, rumors started swirling that Linkin Park was working with a new singer. This was seemingly confirmed by a mysterious 100-hour countdown timer the band shared via social media. When the timer hit zero, it started counting back up, with many fans speculating an announcement would come on September 5. Through this teasing, nearly every name in rock was thrown around as a possible replacement by fans. When the timer finally hit 100 again, Linkin Park’s first show since 2017 was announced. As fans packed into the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Linkin Park debuted their song “Emptiness Machine,” announced their new album From Zero and performed for the first time with their new vocalist, Emily Armstrong.
Best known previously as the lead singer of Dead Sarah, mixed reactions began to pour in over Armstrong’s recruitment to the band. She has impossible shoes to fill, and while the early reactions to her performance were filled with fans debating if it’s even possible for Linkin Park to continue post-Chester, the conversation soon shifted gears.
As fans learned more about Armstrong, two big points of contention arose. First, Armstrong has been affiliated with the Church of Scientology. The second and most notable is her defense of That 70’s Show actor Danny Masterson, also a Scientologist who was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the rape of two former members of the church. This was made known to the public when Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta reposted an old comment of his on the Dead Sarah’s Instagram page where he condemned Armstrong’s support of Masterson. “Do you fans know about your friend Danny Masterson?” the comment read. “Your rapist friend.”
Armstrong soon responded with her own statement on Instagram stories, saying, “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 later clarified, “I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”
Despite sharing her side of the story, much of the damage was already done, as people are still coming out in droves to condemn Linkin Park. This most notably includes Chester Bennington’s son Jamie who addressed a fiery statement to the group’s rapper Mike Shinoda. He said via Instagram, “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 Armstrong’s history in the church and her history as an ally to @dannymasterson.” In another story, Bennington continued “you 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.”
Bixler-Zavala also seemed to not buy Armstrong’s apology, doubling down on his disappointment in a lengthy post on Instagram.
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