Susan Eubanks is Chester Bennington's mother, and she has strong opinions to share about Linkin Park moving forward with Emily Armstrong as their new singer. Per Rolling Stone on their Thursday, September 19, feature, Eubanks said in phone interviews that Linkin Park had promised to notify her if they were to move ahead with a new vocalist. But she said that they didn't do so, and she's "very upset" about it.
She also mentioned that she'd met Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn over the years, and neither of them told her about any reunion. She explained:
"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 wouldn't going to be very happy. I'm very upset about it."
Chester Bennington's mom added that she feels like the band is trying to "erase the past." She said that she doesn't know the Linkin Park fans' opinions about Emily Armstrong joining the band, but for her, having the new singer perform songs that his son sang is "hurtful."
She, along with Chester Bennington's first wife, Samantha, and son Draven, only knew about the reunion at the same time as the world knew it.
Chester Bennington's mom said she found out about the new Linkin Park singer online
Chester Bennington's mother, Susan Eubanks, recalled to Rolling Stone that she had seen Joe Hahn several times since the former lead vocalist passed away in 2017. She said that Hahn told her that he didn't have any intention of bringing the band back again.
She recalled meeting Mike Shinoda sometime two years ago when he promised to tell the family what was happening. Eubanks also mentioned Shinoda reaching out to Samantha and Draven, who then contacted her about Linkin Park releasing some songs with Bennington's performance.
However, she noted that she only learned about Emily Armstrong on Google. She said:
"I found out about Emily Armstrong joining the band on Google. When I go to Google to look for something, the first thing that often pops up is Linkin Park."
Chester Bennington's mom mentioned that she saw the announcement, and she initially thought that Mike would be the singer.
"Chester did teach Mike how to sing," she said.
She told Rolling Stone that she thought the band was only going to go back out, not that they would reunite and add a singer.
Eubanks added that she tuned into the live stream of one of Linkin Park's performances, "not on purpose," and she heard Armstrong "screeching her way through a very high note."
She said that she "got out of there" fast but was also reminded of an old conversation with her son.
She recalled Chester Bennington calling and telling her some years ago about Mike telling him that if he was going to leave, his lead singer role would be replaced with a girl.
She said that her son was "dumbfounded and hurt" by that, and that comment came true with Armstrong's addition, and she's "not okay" with it.