Linkin Park address backlash to new lead singer Emily Armstrong

Linkin Park is well aware that their new era has divided their fanbase — and they aren’t backing down.

Last year, the rock band whose lead singer Chester Bennington died by suicide in 2017, made their return, introducing Emily Armstrong, of Dead Sara, to their lineup while announcing plans for a new album. The news was met with joy and outrage, most of which targeted Armstrong. And Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has a good idea about why.

“There were people who lashed out at Emily, and it was really because she wasn’t a guy,” Shinoda recently told  The Guardian. He claimed that fans were “used to Linkin Park being six guys” with “the voice of a guy leading this song.”

He continued, “They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about. They’re pointing in 10 different directions saying: ‘This is why I’m mad, this is why the band sucks.'”

The response to Armstrong indeed varied. While some celebrated Linkin Park’s return, others were not happy with the addition. Bennington’s mother said she felt “betrayed” by Shinoda’s decision to reform the band without consulting her, while Bennington’s son pointed out Armstrong’s links to the Church of Scientology. 

Armstrong now admits that she wasn’t prepared for such a strong reaction.

“I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest,” she shared, adding that even before joining the band, she avoided social media “for mental-health purposes.”

Now, she stays away entirely: “If there was something really, really pressing, I think our PR would talk to us about it. But I’m old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet.”

Armstrong’s connection to Scientology was also a point of contention to fans on social media who criticized the singer for attending a hearing in support of Danny Masterson, an actor and Scientologist who was eventually convicted of rape.

At the time, Armstrong acknowledged the situation in a statement that didn’t mention Masterson by name.

“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,” she wrote. “Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged, and he was later found guilty.”

She added, “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.”

In 2020, Masterson was charged with raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003. The That ’70s Show actor had one set of his proceedings end in a mistrial in 2022 before being convicted on two out of three counts of rape in a May 2023 retrial.

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Linkin Park is currently touring the world in support of their 2024 album, From Zero. Shinoda told the outlet that “really good vibes” have become the goal of their new shows: “I want you walking away feeling like, ‘This was such a wonderful, special, fun night.'”

In the interest of keeping things light, certain songs have been nixed from the setlist, including “One More Light,” the title track from the band’s final album with Bennington. 

“That’s just too sad to play,” Shinoda explained.