The Emily Armstrong controversy explained

Last week, the rock band Linkin Park announced their return, seven years after frontman Chester Bennington died by suicide.

They were one of the most successful acts of the 2000s, with hits like Numb and In The End, that fused aggressive metal riffs to hip-hop beats.

For their return, they were joined by two new members – drummer Colin Brittain and singer Emily Armstrong, who had shared lead vocals with existing bandmate Mike Shinoda.

But no sooner had the announcement been made than a a torrent of criticism emerged over Armstrong’s alleged ties to the Church of Scientology and her past support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

She later issued a statement distancing herself from Masterton, stressing that she did not condone any “abuse or violence against women”.

Here’s how the story unfolded.

Born in 1986, LA native Emily Armstrong is best known as the lead singer of hard rock band Dead Sara.

She first got into music at the age of 12 after being given a guitar as a birthday present. She later dropped out of school to pursue music, with the support of her parents.

Armstrong quickly formed Dead Sara with her childhood friend Siouxsie Medley, making their debut in 2002.

Inspired by bands like L7 and Hole, they broke out with the scorching 2011 single Weatherman.

Armstrong’s fiery onstage persona and raspy voice earned her a lot of famous fans: Courtney Love asked her to sing on Hole’s 2010 album Nobody’s Daughter, and Dave Grohl once said, “Dead Sara should be the next biggest rock band in the world.”

That never quite happened. The band signed to Epic Records after the success of Weatherman, but the relationship was short-lived and they had to crowd-fund the release of their next album.

But they persevered – releasing their most recent album, Ain’t It Tragic, in 2021, and touring with Demi Lovato the following year, after working on her rock album Holy Fvck.

After the death of Chester Bennington, Linkin Park went on hiatus – only performing publicly at a tribute concert for their former singer in 2017.

In the years that followed, the band were uncertain about their future.

“The relationship in the band is still intact between all the guys and we’re still in communication, but everybody is always in different kind of spaces,” bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell told a US radio station last year.

“And the amount of earth that needs to be moved to begin the construction project of Linkin Park… is a ton, and it’s not going anywhere fast.”

Along the way, Shinoda began wondering how the band would handle Bennington’s old parts.

“Am I going to be carrying a bunch of vocals?” he told Apple Music. “Are we going to have another vocalist? Are we going to have multiple vocalists onstage?”

They tried out several new singers to see who had the right chemistry. Armstrong was first invited to a three-day try-out in 2019; but it wasn’t until “this time last year” that she began recording with the band in earnest.

“When I started to hear Emily’s voice on things, my brain, it was like the first time that my brain would accept it as a Linkin Park song,” Shinoda said.

According to the band’s DJ, Joe Hahn, the first time he heard Armstrong scream, “for me, that did it.”

Linkin Park unveiled their new look on Thursday, 5 September, alongside a new single – The Emptiness Machine – and plans for a world tour.

Initial reactions were positive.

“Armstrong certainly has big shoes to fill,” wrote the New York Times’ pop critic Jon Pareles. “But, as she proves on this bombastic new track, Armstrong shares Bennington’s facility in pivoting between melodic belting and throat-shredding screams.”

Even the hardcore fans on Linkin Park’s Reddit page largely seemed pleased.

“She brings the energy and presence needed to match the band’s sound without trying to imitate Chester,” wrote one.

“Man she already NAILS it,” added another. “This is a worthy reboot and the best step they could have taken.”

Others felt the new addition was disrespectful, saying that Bennington’s legacy should be left alone.

Those comments prompted Brent Smith, lead singer of hard rock band Shinedown, to come to Linkin Park’s defence.

“Something to think about… Do you honestly believe that the members of this iconic band truly think that, of all people, Chester Bennington is replaceable?” he wrote on Instagram.

“The entire world knows he will never be replaceable because he was one of a kind.

“But with all that being said there is an audience that miss this band, and their presence, and what they represent. So I asked you, ALL of you… Give them the opportunity to not close their chapter. Allow them to celebrate their legacy, and also the opportunity to create a new one.”

Mars Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and his wife Chrissie Carnell-Bixler spoke out against Armstrong after she joined the band.

The singer re-shared a post he had written last year on Dead Sara’s Instagram page, saying: “Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson? Your rapist friend.”

The post related to US actor Danny Masterson, former star of That 70s Show, who was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in 2023, after being convicted of two of three forcible rape charges earlier in the year.

Chrissie Carnell-Bixler was one of several women who accused Masterson of sexual assault – and while the actor was not convicted on the charges relating to her allegations, he was found guilty on charges brought by two other anonymous accusers.

Bixler-Zavala and Carnell-Bixler, both former Scientologists, have said the church harassed them and other witnesses over their allegations against Masterson, who is also a Scientologist.

The singer posted a statement of her own on Friday, addressing some of the allegations against her.

“Hi, I’m Emily,” she wrote in an Instagram story post. “I’m new to so many of you, and I wanted to clear the air about something that happened a while back.

“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.

“Soon after, I realised 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.

“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.”

Armstrong did not address her ties to Scientology in her statement, and it is unclear whether she is still a member.

She was born into the church, where her parents are both prominent members. Her mother, Gail, is a former Scientology spokesperson and a senior consulting editor of the church’s magazine, Freedom.

Armstrong was also pictured at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre for a gala celebrating the Church’s 44th anniversary in 2013. A photo of the event, supplied by the church to Getty Images (above), saw her posing alongside Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

Armstrong has never publicly commented on her relationship with the church, but several of Dead Sara’s lyrics suggest criticism and rejection of Scientology’s teachings.

The singer identifies as queer – something that Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard described as a perversion. The modern church says it “does not dictate sexual preferences” and denies accusation of homophobia, but Armstrong sang scathingly about religious attitudes to sexuality in the 2018 song Heaven’s Got A Back Door.

“I heard the voices of the preacher / Telling me all the reasons why I’d die alone… I’m through feeling sorry / For the things that I can’t choose.”

Fans have theorised that lyrics like these mean Armstrong has left the church – but doing so can be a harrowing experience that involves cutting ties with family members.

For now, she has not commented on her ties to Scientology in any capacity.