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Linkin Park isn’t “Numb” to the backlash against new singer Emily Armstrong.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Mike Shinoda explained why he thinks part of the the band’s fanbase was outraged over Armstrong, 39, joining the group seven years after lead singer Chester Bennington’s death.
“There were people who lashed out at Emily, and it was really because she wasn’t a guy,” Shinoda, 48, stated.
The guitarist claimed that critics were “used to Linkin Park being six guys” with “the voice of a guy leading this song” and haven’t adapted to the band’s new iteration.
“They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about,” Shinoda explained. “They’re pointing in 10 different directions saying: ‘This is why I’m mad, this is why the band sucks.’”
Armstrong — also the lead singer of the rock band Dead Sara — joined Linkin Park last year as the group reunited for the ongoing From Zero World Tour.
The singer received backlash in part due to her connection to Scientology and her support of actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson before he was convicted of rape in 2023.
“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 in a social media statement in Sept. 2024.
“Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have,” Armstrong added. “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.”
Armstrong told The Guardian that she wasn’t prepared for the negative public reaction to her joining Linkin Park.
“Not this. No, not this. I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest,” Armstrong said, adding that she used to avoid social media “for mental-health purposes.”
“If there was something really, really pressing, I think our PR would talk to us about it,” she shared. “But I’m old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet.”
Amidst Linkin Park’s tour, Shinoda said there are some songs that he’d “feel weird playing” including “One More Light” from the band’s final album with Bennington.
Shinoda noted the song was originally written “for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away. Then after Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him. And so that’s just too sad to play.”
Bennington tragically died in 2017 by suicide. He was 41.
His 29-year-old son, Jaime Bennington, slammed Linkin Park for adding Armstrong to its lineup last year.
Jaime claimed Shinoda had “quietly erased my father’s life and legacy in real time … during international suicide prevention month.”
He also brought up Armstrong’s Scientology connection and said the band “failed to address the concerns of their diverse fan base.”
English (US)