Chester Bennington’s Mom: ‘I Feel Betrayed’ by Linkin Park
Earlier this month, Linkin Park announced it had officially reunited seven years after the death of singer Chester Bennington. A new vocalist, Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong, would be singing Bennington’s parts at their concerts, which kicked off in L.A. on Sept. 11, and the band had recorded a new album with her. The band’s fans gave the announcement a mixed reaction.
One person who had immediately strong feelings about the announcement was Bennington’s mother, Susan Eubanks. In phone interviews with Rolling Stone, she said the band had promised to notify her if it had any inkling of moving forward. She had run into the group’s other vocalist, rapper Mike Shinoda, in recent years, as well as its turntablist Joe Hahn, but says neither mentioned anything about a reunion. When she learned of the announcement, she felt sudden shock.
“We are thrilled to be back out here,” Shinoda said at a recent concert. “It is not about erasing the past. It is about starting this new chapter into the future and coming out here for each and every one of you.” Eubanks disagrees. Here, in her own words, is how she has been feeling since the band has moved forward. (A representative for Linkin Park did not respond to a request for comment for this story.)
