Chester Bennington's Mother Accuses Linkin Park of Betrayal
Susan Eubanks criticizes the band for replacing her son and claims they are erasing his legacy.
- Chester Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks, says she feels betrayed by Linkin Park’s decision to reunite without informing her in advance.
- Susan Eubanks accuses Mike Shinoda of planning to replace Chester with a female vocalist, something Chester allegedly feared before his passing.
- She believes the band is trying to erase Chester’s legacy by bringing in Emily Armstrong as the new vocalist.
The rosy glow of Linkin Park’s reunion announcement didn’t last long, did it? The initial buzz around the band’s so-called “new era”—complete with Emily Armstrong as the replacement vocalist—has quickly turned into a storm of controversy and frustration. Add to that a bizarre Scientology scandal involving Armstrong and, well, things aren’t looking too sunny anymore.
But the latest dagger comes from Chester Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks, who has made it painfully clear that she’s furious with how the band has handled this whole situation. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eubanks didn’t mince words, revealing she found out about the reunion at the exact same time as everyone else.
“I feel betrayed. They told me that if they were ever going to do something, they would let me know. 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.”
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Strong words, and if true, a major slap in the face. And yes, the band had kept her informed about plans to release unreleased tracks featuring Bennington’s vocals, so it’s not like communication was completely nonexistent. Yet, despite crossing paths with Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn in recent years, Eubanks says no one hinted at a reunion being in the works.
Her frustrations don’t stop there. Hiring Armstrong, according to Eubanks, feels like the culmination of fears Chester himself expressed before his death. She alleges this was all part of a long-standing plan, one Shinoda hinted at during rehearsals years ago.
“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 they’re going to replace me with a girl.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he told me Mike said, ‘If you decide you’re leaving, we’re going to replace you with a girl.’ Chester was dumbfounded and hurt.
“And the fact is that now they did it. So, of course, all that comes right back into my mind. I had a talk with my son about this. I didn’t think they’d probably do it.
“Like I said, I thought Mike would go out and sing the songs himself, and they just wouldn’t sound the same. They wouldn’t be as high or as loud, and it would just be very different. And 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.”
Eubanks’ words paint a picture of broken promises and a legacy she feels is being rewritten without respect. It’s tough not to see this as a major misstep by Linkin Park. Letting down the mother of your late frontman? That’s about as bad a look as it gets.
For the full interview, check out Rolling Stone here.
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