On July 20, 2017, Linkin Park's frontman, Chester Bennington, tragically died by suicide. Seven years later, the band sparked controversy after announcing Emily Armstrong, a singer linked to Scientology, as his replacement.
In the wake of his father's death, Bennington's eldest son, Jaime Bennington, has made it his life goal to uncover the “truth” behind his passing. J. Bennington exclusively opened up about what he perceives as the dark side of the music industry, which he believes played a role in Bennington's demise.
Highlights
- Jaime Bennington questions the true cause of his father's death, hinting at external pressures.
- Linkin Park's hiring of Scientology-linked singer Emily Armstrong sparks controversy among fans.
- Jaime believes the music industry played a dark role in Chester Bennington's tragic passing.
- Chester's family is divided over his suicide, with some suspecting foul play.
Trigger warning: self-harm, suicide, child abuse — “There are people who are in control, and I’m not one of them,” J. Bennington told Bored Panda in a video call.
Bennington has been probing into his father’s death ever since some of the people in his circle began to express doubts about the circumstances, questioning whether it was truly a suicide.
The rockstar’s death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging. According to his official death certificate, Chester was found after hanging himself at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California, USA.
The 41-year-old singer was found lifeless by his best friend, Tommy H. Church, and examined by Quincy Brown, the deputy coroner of Los Angeles County at the time.
Bennington long battled with mental health issues, which were likely linked to his traumatic sexual assault as a child.
Jaime Bennington, the son of Linkin Park's late singer, Chester Bennington, exclusively opened up to Bored Panda
Image credits: linkinpark
In a 2008 interview with Kerrang magazine, the Linkin Park frontman revealed that a “friend a few years older than him” began molesting him around the age of seven.
The singer was known to struggle with depression and substance abuse, including overcoming drug addiction and battling alcoholism.
Despite his complicated history of mental health, which may explain why Bennington faced such a tragic fate, J. Bennington started to question whether something much more sinister was at play.
He has been vocal for some years now about what he considers the “inconsistencies” surrounding Bennington’s death. But, it is Emily Armstrong’s introduction to the band that has propelled the grieving son’s controversial beliefs to go viral.
“I’m a conspiracy theorist,” J. Bennington quipped, acknowledging the backlash that some of his rants on social media have caused.
Image credits: chesterbe
Bennington ultimately believes that his father was “pushed” to kill himself, and doesn’t refute some theories suggesting it wasn’t a suicide at all.
While the official facts debunk J. Bennington’s claims, he isn’t the only member of the Bennington family to hold this conviction.
On September 19, Chester’s mom, Susan Eubanks, aired her grievances about the band to Rolling Stone, claiming that Linkin Park had promised to notify her if it had any inkling of moving forward with a new singer.
Amid Linkin Park's reunion and the launch of a new album with Armstrong, Eubanks told the outlet that the group’s other vocalist, rapper Mike Shinoda, and turntablist Joe Hahn, had failed to mention anything about a reunion, despite running into them over the years.
Eubanks expressed how betrayed she felt by the band. But more so, she suggested that there had been a plan to replace Bennington with a woman for a long time.
“There are people who are in control, and I’m not one of them,” J. Bennington told Bored Panda
Image credits: thepicturepiecesarchive
“Mike told Chester one time that he thought singing these songs would be better with a girl, because he often put Chester down,” Eubanks told Rolling Stone.
“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.”
In a 2020 interview with the Local Malibu, Eubanks admitted: “I don’t believe Chester killed himself. If he did, I am convinced someone coerced him to do it, or worse.”
According to J. Bennington, his family became split into different “clans” following his father's death. One side immediately suspected the official cause of death, while the other accepted it—J. Bennington belonged to the latter.
Image credits: emilyarmstrong
“My entire family was cannibalized after Chester’s passing,” J. Bennington told Bored Panda. “I’m the one who’s been bringing solutions to the table and trying to open up conversations.”
Bennington left a big family behind—six biological children from four different women and an adopted son who grew up with J. Bennington.
Bennington explained that he didn’t meet his father until he was six years old. He grew up with his mother, Elka Brand, his stepbrother Isaiah—whom Bennington later officially adopted—and for a time, Isaiah’s allegedly abusive biological father, Jeremy.
A lot of J. Bennington’s childhood and past remains somewhat blurry—an issue prompted by trauma and being misled by Brand, J. Bennington said.
“My biological mother won’t even tell me how she met Chester and what their relationship was like,” he told Bored Panda.
Bennington added: “Every time she tells me, she gives me a different answer.
“She has locked away all my history behind the door that says ‘I don’t want to be this person anymore and I’m not going there.’
“So, any questions I had about my life I don’t get from them and that’s definitely poisoned the entire connection I had with them.”
J. Bennington suggested his father's death may not have been a suicide, fueling controversy
Image credits: susan_eubanks5
In the aftermath of his father’s passing, J. Bennington has broken contact with every single member of his family, although he now shares some of his relatives’ controversial beliefs about Bennington’s death.
As he repeatedly referred to his grandmother by her first name, “Susan,” J. Bennington explained: “I don’t refer to any of my family as their family members' titles because they don’t deserve them.”
Much like his father, J. Bennington suffered from abuse during his childhood, particularly at the hands of his stepfather Jeremy, and has struggled with depression and complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.
Nevertheless, investigating Bennington’s death has seemingly shifted his focus, creating a project that has led him to unexpected places.
“You don’t hang out with the Clintons unless you're working on something for or with them,” J. Bennington said, as he provided a lengthy description of Linkin Park’s meeting with former US president Bill Clinton in 2014.
Image credits: greydazeofficial
A photograph corroborates J. Bennington’s claims that the band met with the politician in Portugal amid their 2014 Rock in Rio concert.
At the time, Mike Shinoda became an investor in a recycling center called Sustainable Recycling Solutions (SRS) in Haiti, which aimed to assist the island in cleaning up debris following the disastrous 2010 earthquake.
In 2014, the Clinton Foundation awarded a $250,000 grant to SRS. According to J. Bennington, the Clintons’ connection to SRS and Shinoda hid a much darker motive.
“Only a month after meeting with the Clintons in Portugal, Chester joined the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA)'s human trafficking task force,” J. Bennington explained. “After that, there was a death hoax about Chester.”
While J. Bennington didn’t explicitly detail this belief, he may have alluded to Bill Clinton's links to certain conspiracy theories about human sex trafficking, particularly through his association with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier convicted of sex crimes.
These theories, largely propagated by far-right groups like QAnon, suggest Clinton's involvement in a global elite network of traffickers, though no credible evidence supports these claims.
J. Bennington didn’t meet his father until he was six years old, he explained; he grew up with his mother, Elka Brand
Image credits: linkinpark_live/elkabrand
The rumors gained traction after Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, fueled by Clinton's known flights on Epstein's private jet.
Orange County’s District Attorney corroborated J. Bennington’s claims that Bennington was involved in activism related to human trafficking, as Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the DA, told Bored Panda in an email: “He was involved in the task force along with several other musicians to raise awareness about human trafficking.”
In June 2018, former Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, took to his X page (formerly known as Twitter) and acknowledged Bennington’s advocacy as he wrote: “Today marks one year since Chester Bennington’s passing.
“Bennington of Linkin Park was one of the pioneering supporters in OCDA’s fight against human trafficking and exploitation.
“We continue to pursue justice in honor of Chester and of all sexual abuse victims.”
Back in 2017, Rackauckas further shared a statement that appears to back J. Bennington’s initial statements, as the former DA wrote: “For most of his life, Chester was a victim of long-term sexual abuse."
Bennington left a big family behind—six biological children from four different women
Image credits: samanthabennington
“He turned his pain into music and helped to heal the hurt of others through his powerful work.
“As you know, Chester had a passionate desire to better the lives of all people. His personal story and music will always inspire those who still feel voiceless.”
But J. Bennington’s claims took a more peculiar turn when he affirmed that the Clinton presidential administration had “brought Scientology as a viable entity.”
Former US President Bill Clinton's relationship with Scientology primarily revolves around the Church of Scientology's campaign to gain tax-exempt status.
In 1993, under Clinton’s administration, the IRS granted Scientology a favorable tax-exempt status after years of litigation and disputes, a 1998 Tampa Bay article suggested.
Image credits: chester_talinda
Marty Rathbun, a former Scientology official, claimed that Clinton personally supported the Church's efforts due to his positive interactions with Scientologists during his time as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford in the 1960s.
However, this connection remains the subject of speculation, with little official documentation confirming the direct role of Clinton in the IRS decision-making process.
And then there is the connection to the disgraced hip-hop star, Sean Combs AKA “Diddy,” currently facing a slew of human trafficking and sexual abuse allegations.
Bennington pointed to Len Blavatnik, whom he described as “Chester’s boss at Warner Music.” Blavatnik is a Ukrainian-born billionaire who owns the Warner Music record label.
Blavatnik is connected to Linkin Park through his ownership of Warner Music Group (WMG), which he acquired in 2011.
Chester Bennington's son claimed his father was "pushed" into taking his own life by those around him
Image credits: chester_talinda
Meanwhile, the businessman has been involved with Diddy in the context of Warner Music's initial public offering and through a mentoring program.
In 2022, the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University announced that it had appointed Tarik Brooks, president of Diddy’s company, Combs Enterprises, as its inaugural Executive in Residence.
Although J. Bennington repeatedly emphasized connections between Linkin Park and malevolent activities—particularly those involving human trafficking—he never directly claimed that his father’s death was linked to these allegations.
“Nobody is acknowledging at all that I’m investigating Chester’s death. And I’m the only one doing it,” J. Bennington told Bored Panda.
Bennington did, however, share a negative experience with the Church of Scientology.
J. Bennington suggested Bennington's death may be linked to his ties with the Clintons and human trafficking
Image credits: Pieropt/Reddit
After being announced as the new co-vocalist for the Grammy-winning band, Armstrong began performing Bennington’s parts at Linkin Park concerts, launching the band's From Zero World Tour on September 11.
Armstrong’s inclusion in the beloved band sparked significant controversy, as her affiliations with the Church of Scientology and Danny Masterson came under scrutiny.
During the first concert of the tour, which took place at the Kia Forum in California, J. Bennington alleged that he was threatened by someone claiming to be from the Church of Scientology.
He further revealed that a Scientologist was going to “beat him into a hospital room,” because they were friends with Shinoda and Armstrong.
“They had some love to show me,” J. Bennington said, adding that the police had to get involved.
Image credits: OCDATony
Scientology has been criticized for its aggressive tactics toward non-members, including harassment, intimidation, and legal actions against critics or those perceived as threats.
Additionally, former members and outsiders have reported being targeted by the church's "Fair Game" policy, which aims to discredit or undermine those who challenge Scientology's practices or beliefs.
Although Shinoda's involvement in Scientology has never been confirmed, some Linkin Park fans have speculated about his possible membership in what many consider a harmful cult.
“I totally believe that Mike joined Scientology years ago, around the time they started recording the new album,” a person wrote in a Subreddit dedicated to Shinoda and his potential ties to Scientology.
Bennington took particular notice of Shinoda’s evolution as Linkin Park’s frontman, but more so, of what he claimed to be the musician’s lack of acknowledgment for his late father, as J. Bennington admitted: “Mike Shinoda hurt me.”
Linkin Park faced backlash after replacing Bennington with Scientology-linked singer Emily Armstrong
Image credits: Alexey Taktarov/Unsplash
The speculative connections with higher entities and Bennington’s suicide have caused ongoing conflict within the late singer’s family, with J. Bennington appearing to be the most deeply affected.
“I’m being talked about as a manic depressive who is ‘sick like daddy’ and who is constantly on the brink of psychological collapse,” he told Bored Panda, adding, “I’m 100% black sheep.”
He further revealed: “Multiple people have tried to offer me mental care, but they soon take it back because it’s conditional.”
Elaborating on the family dynamic, J. Bennington said: “They want me to do what they want me to do. They want me to talk about them and see them the way they want me to see them.”
Admitting that his grandmother, Eubanks, had “blocked” him from her phone, J. Bennington said: “On the other side, I have made my stand on some pretty abusive situation.
“When you stand in your truth you tend to cross boundaries.”
Image credits: linkinpark
Bennington reflected on the time he spent with his father just months before his death—a time he spent candidly sharing his own struggles with mental health.
“I told my dad in February of 2017 that I was suicidal,” J. Bennington revealed. “And then he validated me and acknowledged me, and I’ve never been that close to my parents ever to tell them something like that.”
“He was the only parent that I told.”
Bennington went on to recall how he had experienced Bennington’s mental health in the months leading up to his death, stating: “And then for six months he just kinda slowly vanished.
“He became a literal ghost and then he was dead. And it was like, ‘Wait, where did Chester go?’
“So for six months, I didn’t see him. I saw him maybe a couple of times maybe on FaceTime or something like that.
“And then he died and I didn’t get to see him, I never saw a body, never saw the ashes, I actually don’t know if he died. But that’s not to say that that’s where the theories come from.”
J. Bennington recalled being threatened by someone linked to Scientology at a Linkin Park concert
Image credits: thepicturepiecearchive
Bennington described himself as a “firm supporter of Chester’s suicide,” but clarified: “If he did die by suicide, he was pushed into it by the people around him. If it wasn’t suicide, he was killed by the people closest to him.”
In hindsight, J. Bennington suggested that Bennington was aware that his work environment was a dangerous place for vulnerable individuals.
The 28-year-old, who studied music in college, reflected on the moment he realized why his father hadn’t helped him pursue a career as a music star, stating: “Looking back, my dad protected me in so many ways that I couldn’t perceive at the time.”
He told Bored Panda: “Because I was not meant to understand. I was meant to be removed from the situation so that I could stay safe. The music industry is so predatory in nature.”
The demands of the music industry were also the reason Bennington was an absent father, leaving J. Bennington with bitter memories of the band.
Image credits: thepicturepiecearchive
He recalled: “I remember literally everybody in the band Linkin Park came to the house [Bennington died].
“I remember I got mad at them because they came to me and they were like: ‘Jaime, your dad loves you so much, you should know that, that’s all he could talk about, he was excited about your future.’
“I had to tell them like, ‘can you stop talking to me about this’ because in my mind you were all around him.
“You guys were on tour with him. For one, how did you not see it? For two, you know like, I know my dad has always struggled with things but like, one of the things he struggled with is not just his depression or his PTSD.
“It’s also how he isn’t allowed to be a dad to me because he’s always making albums and touring.”
Bennington’s investigation into his father’s death began as a way of healing himself through intensive exposure therapy, driven by a sense of isolation and a need to understand his life and relationships.
He started his investigation by creating detailed timelines of digital footprints from his life, his father's, and others, overlaying them to uncover inconsistencies.
“It’s like you can see holes,” J. Bennington explained. “I realize that I had been brainwashed, successfully brainwashed three of four times by the people who were supposed to be protecting me.”
Bennington's mother hinted that the band had plans to replace him with a female vocalist long before his death
Image credits: linkinpark
By 2019, J. Bennington said he realized he no longer remembered how he had met his father, even though Bennington had come to his house when he was six.
“I was made to tell stories about my life that weren’t true and believe them as well,” he said.
When asked about the eventual conclusion to his work, J. Bennington responded: “Ultimately what it comes down to is that there is no end to this investigation.
“[...] It’s about understanding the world that I live in, the people that brought me into it, and how they were impacted by their realities, as much as I was impacted by my reality.
Image credits: chesterbe
While he acknowledged being the son of a huge celebrity, making him "industry royalty," he also said he felt like someone the industry disregards, caught in a strange position between privilege and being overlooked.
“The investigation is not something that needs closure,” J. Bennington admitted. “Going to the Linkin Park [September 11] show was closure.”
He concluded: “If he did die by suicide, then he was pushed into it by his environment. [...].
“If Chester died by suicide for real, if he was pushed into that space again by everyone around him [...] that’s fine, that’s ok, if it really is just him taking back his power by taking his own life then that’s what it is, and that’s ok.
“[...] I’m not here for Chester, I’m here for me.”
Bored Panda has contacted all parties cited in the article for comment.
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or suicide ideation, help is available. International Hotlines provide resources.