Linkin Park’s return has become one of the most talked-about moments among fans and members’ friends. While many were excited to see the band get back on their feet, it didn’t make Chester Bennington’s son Jaime happy.
Ever since the band decided to keep on touring and making new music with their new singer Emily Armstrong, Jaime has made many claims about Mike Shinoda and Linkin Park— from secretly running Linkin Park undercover for years to being a ‘pathological liar.’
Running Linkin Park Undercover For Years
In September last year, Jaime claimed that although it looked like the band never continued to make new music, Shinoda was secretly running the band for years. He added that Linkin Park is not Shinoda’s band. “The band is not Mike Shinoda’s band. Fort Minor, ‘The Rising Tied,’ ‘Post Traumatic,’ those are Mike’s solo projects.”
“I’ve antagonistically claimed that ‘Post Traumatic’ is actually a Linkin Park album and that they’ve never stopped Linkin Park — it’s just been undercover for multiple years experimenting with their process and on their audience using techniques that I believe are grooming techniques,” he revealed.
Jaime also said that Shinoda was manipulative: “I feel like it’s important to acknowledge that Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon, and Mike Shinoda are all co-founders of Linkin Park, whether or not Rob Bourdon is a part of Machine Shop Records or not.”
He added, saying that he has ‘copious amounts of evidence’ that Shinoda is a manipulative person. “I think that it’s important to recognize that Mike Shinoda has been the only one to say anything about Rob Bourdon and that we’re all supposed to just take his word for it when we have copious amounts of evidence to prove that Mike Shinoda has been manipulative and he has been deceitful in this entire process and that he plans on utilizing the influence garnered through that deceit to his greatest benefit.”
Erasing His Father’s Legacy
Jaime also made claims that Shinoda tried to erase his father’s history from the band ‘during international suicide prevention month.’ “You quietly erase[d] my father’s life and legacy in real time… during international suicide prevention month and refuse to acknowledge the impact of hiring someone like Emily, without so much as a clarifying statement on the variety of victims that make up your core fan base,” Jaime said.
He went on to criticize Shinoda. “You betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself. We trusted you to be the bigger, better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone-deaf.”
Lying About Their Comeback
In October last year, Jaime posted on Instagram Stories, saying that Shinoda had been planning the reunion since Chester’s death in 2017.
“During the Zach Sang Show interview, Mike Shinoda revealed that, as of April 2023, he was lying about the Linkin Park comeback,” Jaime wrote. “That, as of the ‘Already Over’ release in October 2023, Linkin Park was doing photoshoots and finalizing their album rollout. That Emily Armstrong made contact with Linkin Park in October of 2017, the week before the Hollywood Bowl Show. That, in 2019, he and Colin Brittain were looking for a new Linkin Park vocalist, and THAT is when he reached out to Emily Armstrong on his own.”
He added, “Linkin Park reincorporated the same month I had my falling out with Anna Shinoda. THEY KNEW I WAS COMING. And they got ahead of it.”
Shinoda’s Response
Shinoda, though not directly, subtly responded to Jaime’s claims.
The rocker responded to Jaime’s claims about erasing Chester’s history with a subtle message during one of their shows, saying it’s all about starting a new chapter. “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.”
Although Shinoda did say he had no intention to bring Linkin Park back after his bandmate’s passing, Jaime’s claims seem to suggest there might be more behind the scenes.
