Read Linkin Park’s Open Letter To Chester Bennington

James Minchin

Read Linkin Park’s Open Letter To Chester Bennington

James Minchin

Last week, after the world learned the shocking news about Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s death by suicide, his fellow Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda tweeted that “an official statement will come out as soon as we have one.” That “official statement,” it turns out, is a lovely, heartfelt open letter to Bennington that the other members of the band posted on Instagram. Writing to Bennington, his bandmates write about how sad they are and how much they loved being around Bennington, and they also begin to grapple with the idea that Bennington’s mental illness played a role in their own success:

We’re trying to remind ourselves that the demons who took you away from us were always part of the deal. After all, it was the way you sang about those demons that made everyone fall in love with you in the first place.

You fearlessly put them on display, and in doing so, brought us together and taught us to be more human. You had the biggest heart, and managed to wear it on your sleeve.

Here’s the full open letter:

A post shared by LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) on

UPDATE: Mike Shinoda shared a photo of Linkin Park from around the time Bennington joined on Instagram. Check it out below.

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