Controversy Involving Emily Armstrong, New Lead Singer of Linkin Park
Since Emily Armstrong took over the vocals for Linkin Park, various controversies have arisen concerning her connection to Scientology and her support for controversial members of the organization. To clarify these points, let’s break down the situation.
Who is Emily Armstrong?
Emily Marcia Armstrong was born on May 6, 1986, in Los Angeles. She gained recognition as the lead vocalist of the band Dead Sara, known for its energetic style and distinctive voice. Recently, she was announced as the new lead singer of Linkin Park, which has further increased the visibility of her career and personal life.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, a former member of Scientology, distanced himself from the organization after discovering abuse committed against his wife by Danny Masterson, another prominent member of the church. When Cedric left Scientology, he and his family faced various retaliations from members of the church. Later, Danny Masterson was tried and convicted of rape, which brought Emily Armstrong's involvement in the case's early hearings to light.
In 2020, Emily was invited to attend one of the early hearings of Masterson as an observer, due to her closeness to him. She claimed that she was unaware of the dark details of the case at the time. After discovering the truth, she distanced herself from Masterson and publicly expressed her disgust. On her Instagram profile, Emily made the following statement:
"Hi, I'm Emily. I'm new to many of you and I wanted to clarify something that happened some time ago. Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend in a court hearing, and I went to one of the early hearings as an observer. Shortly after, I realized I shouldn't have done that. I always try to see the good in people, and I judged him poorly. I haven't spoken to him since then. Unimaginable details emerged, and he was later found guilty. To be as clear as possible: I do not tolerate abuse or violence against women, and I have empathy for the victims of these crimes."
With this statement, Emily made it clear that she does not condone abuse and that her initial participation in the hearing was a poor judgment. Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Emily severed all ties with him.
Accusations Against Emily Armstrong
In addition to her initial involvement in Masterson’s hearings, several accusations about Emily's behavior have emerged. One of the main allegations concerns the claim that she helped intimidate Jane Doe 1, one of Masterson's victims, during the prosecution’s hearing. Chrissie, one of the sources, stated that Emily was among those who intimidated Jane Doe 1 while she was attempting to exit an elevator. However, this claim has been questioned by multiple sources.
According to an article by Tony Ortega, an anti-Scientologist reporter, during the prosecution's hearing, which took place during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Danny Masterson was only allowed to bring six supporters with him to court, and Emily was not one of those individuals. Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who mentioned the intimidation allegations, was not present at the hearing and, therefore, could not have witnessed the incident. This implies that Chrissie is the only one who could have witnessed the event, but no reliable sources claim she saw it firsthand.
Furthermore, an older article also mentions Leah Remini’s presence in the courtroom in place of Cedric, who was taking care of his children. This article reflects the dynamics of those involved in the hearing and does not mention any intimidation of witnesses at the scene.
Danny Masterson’s Innocence Claim
Another circulating accusation is that Emily currently believes Danny Masterson is innocent. However, in contrast to other supporters of Masterson, such as Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Emily has never written letters of support for him nor made public statements about his innocence. This aligns with her private lifestyle, where she avoids publicly engaging in controversial matters.
It is important to note that Danny Masterson was convicted of two counts of rape, but the charges involving Chrissie resulted in a divided jury (8-4), which led the prosecutors to decide not to retry the charges. This information should not be interpreted as suggesting that Danny was innocent, but it highlights the complexities of the legal process and the difficulties faced by the victims and parties involved in the case.
Sources:
Tony Ortega Article: Danny Masterson's demurrer
Tony Ortega Article: Danny Masterson to be arraigned today
Jeffrey Augustine Article: Danny Masterson facing life in prison
Aaron Smith-Levin Video: Aaron Smith-Levin on YouTube
Emily's Involvement with Scientology
Emily grew up in a Scientology household, as her parents were practitioners of the religion. From an early age, she was conditioned to follow the teachings of the belief. However, there is little evidence of her significant involvement with Scientology in her adult years.
One of the few mentions of Emily in connection to the organization is a photo from an event in 2013, where she is seen alongside Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the lead vocalist of The Mars Volta. This is an important point in understanding the controversies surrounding her name.
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| Emily Armstrong and Cedric Bixler-Zavala at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre for a gala celebrating the Church's 44th anniversary in 2013. This photo was provided by the Church of Scientology as a handout. Ava Clithero/CoS/Getty Images |
Emily identifies as Queer and is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is widely known that Scientology openly rejects the LGBTQIA+ community, which makes it difficult to believe that Emily is still an active member of the organization.
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| Emily and her ex-girlfriend Laura Hanson |
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| Emily and her ex-girlfriend Kate Harrison |
The absence of recent statements about her relationship with the religion may be a sign that Emily distanced herself from Scientology, especially considering the potential reprisals that former members often face, as seen in the case of Cedric Bixler-Zavala.
Furthermore, Emily's social media, interviews, and music, particularly from her band Dead Sara, contain nothing that could reasonably be interpreted as pro-Scientology. Many of her song lyrics directly clash with the principles of Scientology, addressing themes such as anti-religion, the recognition of mental health, and disdain for hierarchy. Additionally, the fact that Emily is openly queer goes against Scientology's tenets, which do not accept sexual diversity, especially within the more "hardcore" members of the religion.
According to sources from Aaron Smith-Levin, an anti-Scientology YouTuber, Emily was not an active or dedicated follower of Scientology. He states that, according to people close to her, Emily was "kind of there," but did not show deep involvement with the organization. A check on the official Scientology website shows that Emily completed exactly one course in 2007, in contrast to more prominent figures like Kirstie Alley, who, with her long history in Scientology, completed 13 courses, indicating a much deeper commitment.
According to Aaron Smith-Levin, it is possible that Emily was a victim of childhood abuse within Scientology, something often reported by former members. He suggests that Emily may have had a life experience marked by these practices, which could explain her lack of active involvement with the religion in the years that followed.
Related Sources:
Family Estrangement
One of the most intriguing clues about Emily’s distancing from Scientology and her own family is her relationship with relatives outside the organization. On her social media, Emily follows only one family member: an aunt who lives in another state and is a member of a Presbyterian Church. This choice does not go unnoticed, especially considering the context of Emily’s life within Scientology, where family connections are often strongly influenced by the doctrine and the church’s control.
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| Emily's Aunt |
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| Marcia attends Westminster Presbyterian Church in Las Vegas |
As per Mike Rinder’s interview, Emily demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the whereabouts of her mother, Gail Armstrong, as a prisoner in "The Hole" – a confinement camp used by David Miscavige to punish high-ranking members of Scientology. This offers an additional clue about the estrangement between mother and daughter. This information is not trivial; if Emily does not know where her mother was during this time, it is possible that their relationship is more superficial than one might expect for a mother and daughter who grew up together in such a closed and controlled environment.
This lack of knowledge could indicate that Emily does not maintain a close bond with her mother, or perhaps no longer cares about her in the same way she once did. If we consider the context of abuse and emotional manipulation that characterizes life within Scientology, it is possible that Emily’s lack of involvement with her mother is a consequence of the dynamic imposed by the church, where contact and communication between members can be restricted or completely severed in cases of disputes or abandonment of the faith. Alternatively, it may be a manifestation of a deeper emotional estrangement, where Emily prefers to focus on her own relationships outside the church’s control.
Thus, Emily’s distancing from her family and, more specifically, from her mother, who was in an extreme situation within the church, suggests a possible rejection of both the values of Scientology and the relationships it represents.
Sources:
Tony Ortega Article: Mike Rinder
Emily and Mental Health
It is publicly known that Scientology does not acknowledge mental health. Let’s look at some interviews with Emily that show she believes in this:
In the following interview, Emily shares that "Losing My Mind" is her favorite track on the album, and she said the following:
"We have one of my vocal tracks tuned, so it sounds a little like I have a conscience or an alter ego or something like the devil and the angel on your shoulder. There's something emotionally triggering for me in this, and the lyrics — I feel like the whole song is so radical for me and in a new direction. I'm so proud of it. It's legitimately the last song on the album, and I think it will make sense after hearing the entire album. We always end the album with a slower, emotional song. The writing title for us was 'Drugs and Suicide,' so it was a dark title because it came from a dark place."
Source: https://consequence.net/2021/09/beyond-the-boys-club-emily-armstrong-dead-sara/
The next article calls 'Losing My Mind' a glimpse into Emily's vulnerable psyche. She is quoted as follows:
"Much of this comes from a time when I was in the worst shape of my life," reflects the songwriter. "I was in the darkest, deepest depression you could imagine, and I pulled myself out of it. I had to write these songs to help pull the darkness out of me. Talking about something can help you get out of it. It was brutal for a while, and that's what fueled it."
Source: https://brooklynmadepresents.com/event/dead-sara/
In this interview, Emily mentions that she was struggling during the pandemic and working nonstop to finish the album. At one point, she suggested to her bandmate that they needed to take a few days off and called it a "mental health weekend." I’m paraphrasing here, but the interviewer then says that it's good to talk about mental health more openly, and Emily agrees. The conversation begins before the timestamp, but if you want to skip ahead, it gets more concrete from 13:43 onwards.
An article from Kerrang incorporating Emily's statements. She said the following about the creation of 'Ain't It Tragic':
"We were supposed to go into the studio just before the shutdown," Emily reflects. "After that, it was like, 'Wow!' You couldn’t help but have a completely different mindset about life in general. We all felt it. Your mind just goes to a deeper, darker place, but at the same time, we had the magic of that cathartic escape valve. Everything at that time helped paint a picture: a little bit of [fear], our frustration with the world, then my own personal struggles with depression and more personal things. But everything kind of came together in this year or two, where we reached some kind of clarity. We started to see the light at the end of the tunnel while we were in it, like being in a sensory deprivation chamber, or a therapy session where you're going deep-deep-deep."
Source: https://www.kerrang.com/5-reasons-why-you-need-to-check-out-dead-sara
"'What It Takes' is essentially about coming out of the closet," she states. "That’s something I’ve never been able to talk about. I was living a life where I felt like if I said anything I would die, but by not saying anything, I was already dying. Again, I was scaring myself with this song. It’s about realizing that it’s okay to be yourself, because honestly, no one really cares except you."
Source: https://first-avenue.com/performer/dead-sara/
There’s also the fact that in 2020, Dead Sara specifically participated in a live streaming event for 320 Changes Direction, an organization founded by Talinda Bennington (widow of Chester Bennington) to raise awareness about mental health.
Article mentioning Dead Sara performing for the 320 Changes Direction charity event:
https://loudwire.com/badflower-so-happy-im-thirty-festival-dead-sara-bones-uk/
Conclusion
Based on the analysis of events, we can conclude that Emily Armstrong took a firm stance in distancing herself from Danny Masterson after discovering the details of his involvement in abuse cases. Regarding Scientology, there is no recent information to prove her continued affiliation with the organization. On the contrary, her actions and the content of her music suggest a considerable distancing from the religion, possibly due to disagreements with its principles. Although she avoids publicly commenting on the matter, the evidence indicates that Emily left Scientology in the past. Therefore, the controversies surrounding her name lose relevance in light of her opposition to abuse and her likely disconnection from the organization.
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