Linkin Park adding new singer Emily Armstrong to their lineup has had mixed reactions — some because of her voice, most due to her ties to Scientology and Danny Masterson. Chester Bennington's son has already disavowed the band's choice, and now, Bennington's mother, Susan Eubanks, has shared her thoughts.
In a phone interview with Rolling Stone, Eubanks shared that both Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn "promised" to let Bennington's family know if they chose to reunite after his death. She claims that his first wife, Samantha Bennington, and their son, Draven, found out about the reunion at the same time as everyone else.
"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 said.
Eubanks continued to say that she found out about the reunion on Google, and that she watched the livestream when it happened. "I don't even remember what it is [she was singing], because I didn't want to hear it. It was just a moment. But it was her, I'm just going to say it, screeching her way through a very high note. And I got out of there as fast as I could. I cried."
This hit a tender button not only because of Bennington's death, but because she claims the idea of replacing him with a girl came up while he was still in Linkin Park.
Mike told Chester one time that he thought singing these songs would be better with a girl, because he often put Chester down. And Chester called me and said, "He thinks that they're going to replace me with a girl." And I said, "What do you mean?" And 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 ended the call by saying she feels "betrayed" by the choice, and their decision to have Armstrong sing songs that originally featured Bennington. "You don't have to worry about going through the old songs and finding new ones, new Chester songs to put out. Now you can just put out new songs. But don't bother to put out Chester's songs with Emily singing them."