Linkin Park’s new frontwoman Emily Armstrong has responded to the backlash over her perceived previous support of Danny Masterson.
Earlier this week, the rock band announced that it was reuniting with Armstrong taking over vocals following the death of lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017.
But Armstrong’s signing sparked an almost immediate backlash from people who pointed out her alleged previous support of convicted rapist and actor Masterson.
Armstrong attended one of Masterson’s preliminary hearings in 2020, Deadline reported.
Armstrong has now addressed the claims in a post she shared on her Instagram Stories.
Without directly naming Masterson, she wrote: “Hi, I’m Emily. 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,” she continued.
“Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since,” she went on. “Unimaginable details emerged and he was later found guilty.”
She added: “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.”
Masterson, best known for his role in the sitcom “That 70’s Show,” was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in 2023 after being found guilty on two counts of rape.
The incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003 when he was at the height of his fame.
Prosecutors said Masterson used his position in the Church of Scientology to try to silence the accusations.
The Mars Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and his wife Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who is one of several women to have accused Masterson of sexual assault, were among those to have called out Armstrong.
Bixler-Zavala reposted to his Instagram Stories a comment he previously left on the Instagram page for Dead Sara, Armstrong’s longtime band.
“Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson? Your rapist friend,” the comment read.
Bixler-Zavala and Carnell Bixler are also both former Scientologists, per Rolling Stone.
Armstrong isn’t the only celebrity to have faced backlash over the Masterson case.
Masterson’s former costars Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis faced a torrent of criticism after it emerged that they sent letters of support to the judge in Masterson’s trial to try to get him a more lenient sentence following his conviction.
Kutcher and Kunis later apologized for their letters in a video posted to Instagram.
Kutcher said that the letters “were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way.”
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