Carpool Karaoke is one of the best things going on the internet, offering a brief window of what it would be like to take a quick ride around town with your favorite celebrities. But recently, tragedy intersected with an episode of the Apple Music spin-off when the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington followed the band's appearance alongside the show's staff.
We found out in mid-July the band had filmed an episode of Carpool Karaoke at some point this summer, after they shared a photo of the group with actor Ken Jeong on their Twitter feed.
A little less than a week later, Bennington tragically took his own life, rocking the music world and casting doubt on all the band's affairs. Fan response has been tremendous in the wake of his passing, with 11 different Linkin Park singles receiving new platinum certifications in the weeks since his death, and people have done an excellent job focusing their efforts on looking out for Bennington's surviving friends and family.
For his part, James Corden, the originator of Carpool Karaoke, told the Associated Press the fate of the Linkin Park episode will rest in the hands of Bennington's loved ones.
"We will approach it in whichever manner his family or the people that were involved in that episode, however they would like it to be handled," he said. "We consider it to be not our decision to make. We will navigate it as delicately as possible and just adhere to whatever wishes they would want, because I don’t think there’s any other way we could deal with it, really. It’s completely up to them and that’s a conversation we haven’t even thought about having right now."
It's a nice gesture on their behalf. Though the show tends to strike a jovial, upbeat tone, this might be an opportunity for everyone involved to take the show down a different path, and perhaps use it as a way to pay tribute to Bennington's life and career. How that would take shape is anyone's guess, but it doesn't sound like they'll rush into any decisions.
Kudos to Corden and the rest of the team involved with Carpool Karaoke for keeping an eye on what's important here. And remember, if you or anyone you know is in need of someone to talk to, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for free, confidential, and 24/7 help at 1-800-273-8255.
