Linkin Park’s new vocalist Emily Armstrong grew up in Scientology dorms for its most zealous followers’ children before becoming a “hardcore” church member, the Daily Beast has reported.
Emily Armstrong was unveiled by Linkin Park as its new frontwoman in September, after lead singer Chester Bennington died in 2017. Their first album featuring Armstrong was released Friday.
Armstrong’s history as a Scientologist has already proved controversial. Bennington’s son Jaime had also slammed Linkin Park for embracing a Scientologist when she was announced, writing on Instagram that the band “erased my father’s life and legacy in real time.”
Now documents obtained by the Daily Beast reveal how Armstrong grew up in the Cadet Org, a church-run order for children of Sea Org members, and how her mother, Gail, has been deeply involved in Scientology, working in its “intelligence” unit and attacking one of its highest-profile whistleblowers.
Gail Armstrong also wrote speeches for Scientology leaders and edited an in-house publication which claimed Osama bin Laden was duped into committing the 9/11 attacks by “unknown” psychiatric methods, and which blamed the Columbine High School massacre on anti-depressants.
Her daughter was also accused of being part of a group that attempted to intimidate a victim of Scientologist child star-turned ra*ist Danny Masterton.
The release of a new album and plans for a 50-date world tour by one of the top-selling bands of all time make the 38-year-old one of the controversial religion’s biggest stars when its traditional roster of big names, including John Travolta and Tom Cruise, has long been unchanged.
The endorsements of headline talent like Travolta and Cruise—who joined Scientology when they were emerging superstars—brought glitz and appeal to the organization that no amount of money could buy.
A confidential 2004 memo describes the outsized importance of famous members to Scientology’s success and growth, saying a “great deal of positive media comes from actions done by celebrities.” However, Armstrong didn’t require any recruiting effort: she is a celebrity success story raised inside the Church.
Daily Beast pieced together how deeply enmeshed she and her family are in the Church of Scientology, which said that our reporting about her history had the “reek of religious intolerance and ignorance.”
By the time she was of elementary school age, in the early 1990s, Armstrong lived in a Los Angeles dormitory for the Cadet Org, the children of the Sea Org, Scientology’s innermost corps of devoted staff, former members told the Beast.
Her time in the Cadet Org is partially recounted in The Bad Cadet, a memoir by ex-Scientologist Katherine Spallino, who was raised in the church at the same time as Armstrong.
Emily Armstrong had landed in trouble after former Scientologist Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who is the wife of The Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixler-Avala criticized her due to her ties to the Church of Scientology. She stated that Armstrong has ‘no right to fill the shoes of Chester Bennington, a true advocate.’ She also posted several other allegations.
Armstrong replacing Chester on Linkin Park’s new album, From Zero, has received a lot of criticism and even sparked controversy. Critics pointed out Armstrong’s association to the Church of Scientology and her alleged friendship with actor Danny Masterson, who was publicly accused by several women in November of 2017, including Carnell-Bixler.
Emily had even addressed the situation. “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,” Armstrong wrote in her Instagram Story.
