The late Chester Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks, has revealed she feels “betrayed” by Linkin Park after they moved forward with a new singer without giving her any sort of heads-up.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Eubanks said the band told her that they would let her know “if they were ever going to do something.” Instead, she found out they were reuniting with Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong as co-vocalist through Google — despite having run into vocalist Mike Shinoda and turntablist Joe Hahn in recent years.
“They didn’t let me know, and they probably knew that I [wasn’t] going to be very happy. I’m very upset about it,” Eubanks said. “I feel like they’re trying very hard to erase the past. They’re performing songs that Chester sang. And I don’t know how the fans are taking it, but I know how I take it. And having [Armstrong] singing my son’s songs is hurtful.”
She continued, “They said they would let the family know if they were going to reunite. They did not. [Bennington’s first wife] Samantha and [son] Draven didn’t know until it was told to the world. It was the same for me and it hurt.”
Eubanks added that it was especially hurtful because Shinoda “often put Chester down” and once told Bennington that “these songs would be better with a girl.”
“Chester called me and said, ‘He thinks that they’re going to replace me with a girl.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’” she recalled. “He said Mike told him at rehearsal that, ‘If you decide you’re leaving, we’re going to replace you with a girl.’ And Chester was dumbfounded and hurt.”
Eubanks also told Rolling Stone that she never thought Linkin Park would replace her son in the band. Instead, she thought Shinoda would just take over all the vocals.
“I would’ve been OK with that, but I’m not OK with this, to have somebody replace him and try to do what he did,” she explained. “I don’t think that there’s anybody in the world that has the same voice. And when I heard that, I was just so repelled that no, they’re trying to do exactly what Chester did, but they’re not succeeding at it.”
It’s worth noting Shinoda has said at recent concerts that Linkin Park’s comeback isn’t about “erasing the past,” but rather “starting this new chapter into the future.” Eubanks clearly doesn’t feel the same way.
Linkin Park’s decision to bring on Armstrong as their new co-vocalist has been met with backlash after stories of her ties to Scientology and past support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson surfaced online. The Mars Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and his wife, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler (one of Masterson’s victims), have been particularly outspoken, with the latter blasting Armstrong for allegedly participating in “the cruel intimidation” of her “fellow sister survivors.”
For her part, Armstrong issued a statement admitting she once considered the disgraced actor “a friend,” but ultimately “misjudged him.” Armstrong also said she doesn’t “condone abuse or violence against women,” but didn’t mention Masterson by name.
One of Chester Bennington’s other sons, Jaime Bennington, has also said Linkin Park “betrayed the trust” of their fanbase.