Tyler Lee Bennington, the son of Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, has taken to TikTok to shut down conspiracy theories about his dad’s death.
Chester Bennington took his own life in 2017 after struggling with depression.
The singer’s widow Talinda Bennington launched the 320 Changes Direction initiative shortly afterwards to support those with mental health issues and to break down the stigma attached to depression and addiction. A festival focused on bringing awareness to mental health issues followed in 2020.
Chester Bennington’s 17-year-old son Tyler Lee has also used his TikTok page to raise awareness about depression and to advocate for mental health.
Last month he said he’d be using his page more and shared a tribute to Chester on what would have been his 47th birthday. The post said “mental health is just as important as anything else” alongside the hashtags “fuck depression”, “make Chester proud” and “suicide prevention awareness”.
However, one person commented with the claim “your dad didn’t kill himself” before adding “he was doing good in this world and they didn’t like [it].”
Responding to the conspiracy theories surrounding Chester’s death, Tyler said: “This is the bullshit I will not be dealing with on my page. This person is getting blocked. I’m a child, this is inappropriate to comment on my post or anybody’s post for that matter.”
He went on to say that “there’s no evidence to any of these theories that have been made. These are all just vain attempts to sensationalise and make what really is a tragedy, a big story.”
“Get a life, man,” Tyler added.
Replying to @thoughtprovokingwisdom I will not tolerate this kind of behavior about me, my family, or any fan on my page. It pains me to know that there are still people in the world who listen to this sttention seeking slander. This is the only video i will post like this, for any other comments like this, I reserve the right to movk and ridicule you back before blocking you. Thank you to everyone who has left supportive and kind comments. You are truly kind people. #mentalhealthmatters #fuckdepression #makechesterproud #suicidepreventionawarenes
♬ original sound – Tyler Bennington
“I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour about me, my family or any fan on my page,” he wrote in the caption of the video. “It pains me to know that there are still people in the world who listen to this attention seeking slander. This is the only video I will post like this. For any other comments like this, I reserve the right to mock and ridicule you back, before blocking you.”
“Thank you to everyone who has left supporting and kind comments. You are truly kind people,” Tyler added.
Last month Mike Shinoda revealed that Linkin Park will not perform with a hologram of late frontman Chester Bennington.
It comes as a previously unheard Linkin Park song featuring Chester’s vocals was shared ahead of a 20th anniversary reissue of ‘Meteora’.
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