Draven Bennington, child of late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, said she is transgender and began her transition last year.
The 22-year-old opened up about her journey on Instagram in honor of Valentine’s Day on Friday, saying she wanted to “show some love to myself.”
“For a long time, I tried to be someone, someone I truly wasn’t on the inside,” wrote Draven, who now goes by she/her pronouns. “Ignoring it worked for a while, but continuously coming to the crossroads of being happy or being complacent was one I couldn’t keep choosing.”
Draven added that she “decided to take the path of happiness and being true to myself” in August 2024 by starting hormone replacement therapy.
“It has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” she said, noting that she has received support from her friends and family, including her mom, Samantha Bennington.
“With all the support and love I’ve received, I’ve built the strength to love myself. This is why I’m choosing to no longer hide who I am. Love is love. Happy Valentine’s Day,” she wrote.
Chester welcomed Draven with Samantha in April 2002. The Linkin Park lead singer was also a father to five other children from previous relationships.
Chester died July 20, 2017, after hanging himself after a long battle with depression. Linkin Park has remained active since, but mostly by performing tribute shows and special performances honoring his legacy. That changed last year when the band revealed its new singer, Emily Armstrong, and debuted a new single during a live performance.
Chester’s son, Jaime Bennington later took to social media to slam the band’s founding member and vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda for replacing his late father.
“Hey Mike! People aren’t having a difficult time wrapping their head around the prospect of Linkin Park reinventing itself,” Jaime wrote on his Instagram Stories, according to Deadline. “They are having a hard time wrapping their head around how you: Hired your friend of many years @emilyarmstrong to replace @chesterbe knowing Emily’s history in the church and her history as an ally to @dannymasterson.”
Jaime was referencing Armstrong’s involvement with Scientology and her support for Danny Masterson during his sexual assault trial.
In his post, Jaime went on to accuse Shinoda of “Quietly eras[ing] my father’s life and legacy in real time” during international suicide prevention month. Further, he claimed Shinoda refused to acknowledge “the impact of hiring someone like Emily, without so much as a clarifying statement on the variety of victims that make up your core fan base.”
In a separate post, Jaime stated that Shinoda “betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself. We trusted you to be the bigger better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone deaf.”
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