Chester Bennington’s family will make the call on Carpool Karaoke

Prior to his death, Chester Bennington recorded an episode of Apple Music’s Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. Whether that episode airs will be up to Bennington’s family.

The wildly popular Carpool Karaoke series’ crew finds itself in a sensitive position: deciding whether to air its recorded episode with late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington. The Apple Music series is a spin-off from a segment on CBS’ The Late Late Show. Comedian James Corden hosts both series.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Corden said the Carpool Karaoke crew would “approach [the situation] in whichever manner his family, or the people [who] were involved in that episode, would like it to be handled.” He called Bennington’s death a “tragedy” and said the decision about whether to air the singer’s episode would be entirely up to his family.

Bennington’s widow Talinda tweeted a thank you to the show following the interview.

Corden told AP , “We consider it not our decision to make.” He also added, “We will navigate it as delicately as possible and just adhere to whatever wishes [the family] would want.”

Deferring to Bennington’s family is the right decision.

Although the media has reported endlessly about Bennington’s death, including reactions from friends and family, it would be disrespectful of Corden and his crew to simply go ahead as if nothing happened. Bennington’s death came as a massive shock and fans flocked to social media to express their grief. The general feeling was one of deep sadness; losing someone to the very demons he helped others fight through his music felt especially horrible. Bennington’s death coming on the heels of his good friend Chris Cornell’s was even harder to process.

Following the news of Bennington’s death, his bandmates in Linkin Park set up a live feed of the hashtag #RIPChester on its website. The feed pulls from Instagram and Twitter; it displays messages from fans all over the world who are paying tribute to the late singer. At the top of the page, the band has listed resources for those struggling with suicidal thoughts.

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Losing Chester Bennington was a horrible shock; seeing him in an episode of Carpool Karaoke would be incredibly bittersweet. Whether his family chooses to let Corden and Apple Music air the segment is yet to be seen, but either decision deserves respect as his family members process their grief.