Linkin Park’s New Singer Responds to Criticism in Support of Danny Masterson

Armstrong attended one of Masterson’s pretrial hearings in 2020, Deadline reported.

Armstrong has now responded to these allegations in a message she shared on her Instagram Stories.

Without directly naming Masterson, she wrote: “Hi, my name is Emily. I’m new to many of you, and I wanted to clarify something that happened a while back.”

“Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend in a court appearance, and I attended an initial hearing as an observer,” she continued.

“Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people and I misjudged him. I haven’t spoken to him since,” she continued. “Unimaginable details emerged and he was later convicted.”

She added: “To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I sympathize with the victims of these crimes.”

Masterson, best known for his role on the sitcom “That 70’s Show,” was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in 2023 after being convicted of two counts of rape.

The incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003, when he was at the height of his fame.

Prosecutors said Masterson used his position within the Church of Scientology to try to silence the accusations.

Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala and his wife Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of several women to accuse Masterson of sexual assault, were among those who spoke out against Armstrong.

Bixler-Zavala reposted to his Instagram Stories a comment he previously left on the Instagram page of Dead Sara, Armstrong’s longtime band.

“Do your fans know your friend Danny Masterson? Your rapist friend,” the comment read.

Bixler-Zavala and Carnell Bixler are also both former Scientologists, according to Rolling Stone.

Armstrong isn’t the only celebrity to face backlash over the Masterson affair.

Masterson’s former partners Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have faced a torrent of criticism after it emerged they sent letters of support to Masterson’s trial judge in an attempt to secure a more lenient sentence following his conviction.

Kutcher and Kunis later apologized for their letters in a video posted to Instagram.

Kutcher said the letters “were intended to be read by the judge and not to undermine the victims’ testimony or re-traumatize them in any way.”