New Linkin Park singer Emily Armstrong has released a statement addressing her past connection to disgraced That ’70s Show actor and convicted rapist Danny Masterson.
Armstrong’s ties to Masterson resurfaced in posts made by Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, who is among the women who’ve accused Masterson of sexual assault. In her Instagram Stories, Carnell-Bixler accused Armstrong of being complicit in sexual assault as a member of the Church of Scientology.
She also reposted a past comment made by her husband, The Mars Volta‘s Cedric Bixler-Zavala, on the account of Armstrong’s band Dead Sara, which said that Armstrong had attended a preliminary hearing in support of Masterson during his case.
“Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson?” Bixler-Zavala wrote. “Your rapist friend.”
In her own Instagram Story, Armstrong writes that she wants 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,” Armstrong writes, without naming Masterson. “Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have.”
“I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him,” she continues. “I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged and he was later found guilty.”
Armstrong concludes, “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.”
Armstrong was introduced as Linkin Park’s new singer on Thursday. She steps into the role of the late Chester Bennington, who died in 2017.
In other Linkin Park news, guitarist Brad Delson has announced that he will not be joining the band for their comeback tour, which launches Sept. 11 in Los Angeles.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.