Late last week, in a stunning and tragic piece of news, Chester Bennington killed himself.
The Linkin Park singer was only 41 years old at the time his body was found hanging inside his home, with friends, family members and musicians all reacting with shock and sadness in light of Bennington’s death.
All except Brian Welch, that is.
The guitarist for the band Korn and a long-time acquaintance of Bennington’s, Welch took to Facebook shortly after learning of Bennington’s suicide and actually criticized the late artist.
“I’ve battled depression/mental illness,” Welch wrote. “And I’m trying to be sempethetic [sic] but it’s hard when you’re pissed! Enough is enough!
“Giving up on your kids, fans, and life is the cowardly way out!!!”
Not exactly the most understanding of reactions, was it?
Welch deleted this message after receiving a great deal of backlash against it, but nothing is ever truly deleted on the Internet, as you can see below:
Welch also tried to save face by writing the following caption to the photo above of himself and Bennington, which was snapped in February:
Horrible shocking and sad… we spent some fun hours together inside studios over the years, helping to promote your music and proudly knowing how your band helped so many get into this music in the first place.
But disgusted w how you ended it. It didn’t have to be this way.
Thoughts, prayers and positive vibes to your family, friends and fans worldwide. RIP Chester…
Moreover, Welch shared the picture below of Bennington – who some believe was prompted to kill himself in response to Chris Cornell doing the same thing – and penned as an affiliated message:
After the shock of yesterday, trying to focus on the positive memories today, like the time Chester made my daughter Jennea smile during Christmas.
Still unsatisfied with his response, Welch then recorded video in which he apologized for his initial remarks after Bennington committed suicide.
“I didn’t mean to sound insensitive about Chester. Just dealing with a range of emotions today,” Welch explained, adding in the following footage:
“Love you Chester. I’m pissed that you did this, but I know this could have been me back in the day after getting wasted one night.”
Check out the mea culpa below:
Think this is enough?
Do you understand where Welch was coming from in the first place?
Or was he simply way out of line and nothing he can say at this point can make up for his inappropriate critique of someone who was clearly very troubled?
Check out various other reactions to Bennington’s passing below and then sound off with your own.
