Two months after Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s death was ruled a suicide, his widow has released what she says is the last video of him. And as Talinda Bennington notes on Twitter, depression doesn’t “have a face or a mood,” as her husband jokes and laughs 36 hours before he died.
My next tweet is the most personal tweet I have ever done. I'm showing this so that you know that depression doesn't have a face or a mood.
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 16, 2017
This is what depression looked like to us just 36 hrs b4 his death. He loved us SO much & we loved him. #fuckdepression #MakeChesterProud pic.twitter.com/VW44eOER4k
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 16, 2017
Talinda Bennington has been using the hashtag #fuckdepression since Chester Bennington’s death, and it’s become a rallying cry for many on Twitter.
Depression is real & it took my husband's life.I will fight forever to change how we view mental health. #fuckdepression #MakeChesterProud https://t.co/jeSNNqMNgL
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 9, 2017
I'm proud to have started the hashtag #fuckdepression . But it's each & everyone of you that are making the change of attitude happen❤️
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 8, 2017
Chester is looking down & proud of us 4 carrying on how he would've wanted us to❤️ #fuckdepression #MakeChesterProud pic.twitter.com/7vTRDRzSKV
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 10, 2017
As Bro Bible wrote, she was interviewed by Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx last week on his Sixx Sense radio show, and she discussed the hashtag’s genesis.
One of those sleepless nights, I was on Twitter and reading through hundreds of condolences to myself and my children. I started to notice that fans were saying they were hurting, and they didn’t know what to do. It weighed heavily on my heart, because their words were comforting me. I just thought to myself, what if we could just talk to each other?
…Somebody had tweeted me that her sister had committed suicide in December, and six days later her other sister committed suicide, and then her mother was dying of cancer. I just tweeted out, ‘LP family, let’s let her know she’s loved and needed.’ That just kind of took off.
Mike [Shinoga of Linkin Park] started #MakeChesterProud, which I thought was awesome, trying to spread positivity, so I tagged that. Somebody on Twitter said, ‘I’m so sick of being depressed all my life, [fuck] depression.’ I read that, and I just heard Chester, because he was always saying the F word.
For more information about suicide prevention or to speak with someone confidentially, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.) or Samaritans (U.K.).
If you are a teen dealing with depression or other mental health issues, see PBS.org for a list of resources and organizations that can help you. If you are an adult, see Mental Health Resources.
H/T Bro Bible