Avril Lavigne scolds Mark Zuckerberg over Nickelback diss

Chavril may be over, but Avril Lavigne has still got Chad Kroeger's back.

The Complicated singer has fired off an online missive at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for mocking Nickelback, the band fronted by Kroeger (from whom she split in 2015 after a two-year marriage).

On Thursday, the pop-punk performer posted an open letter addressed to Zuckerberg blasting him for making tired jokes about her ex's oft-derided, but nonetheless bestselling, band. 

"You're allowed your musical opinion," she noted, "however your jab at Nickelback is in poor taste.

"When you have a voice like yours, you may want to consider being more responsible," she added, "especially given what's going on in the world today."

Lavigne, originally from Napanee, Ont., concludes with a series of hashtags: #SayNoToBullying, #TheJokeIsOld and #NickelbackHasSoldOver50MillionAlbums.

Earlier this week, Zuckerberg unveiled his progress working on an at-home artificial intelligence system named Jarvis — voiced by actor Morgan Freeman and inspired by Tony Stark's AI system in the Iron Man movies. 

In one video Zuckerberg shared on Facebook, after showing Jarvis engaging in a string of mundane tasks, he asks it to play "some good Nickelback songs."

The deadpanned response is: "I'm sorry, Mark. I'm afraid I can't do that. There are no good Nickelback songs."

• Nickelback a punching bag even for Mark Zuckerberg's AI assistant Jarvis

And to add insult to injury?

"Good," replies Zuckerberg. "That was actually a test."

Punching bag no more?

Earlier this fall, the Kensington, P.E.I., police department launched a new campaign against drunk driving on Facebook, threatening those they apprehended with a specific brand of punishment (in addition to a fine, a criminal charge and a driving suspension): being trapped in a cruiser with Nickelback's 2001 album Silver Side Up playing on the stereo. 

The police officer responsible for the tongue-in-cheek post subsequently removed the post and apologized for "bullying" the Vancouver-based band, originally from Hanna, Alta.

"How could I... walk into an elementary school classroom in uniform and try to teach the kids that bullying is wrong when I was guilty of the exact thing," wrote Const. Robb Hartlen.

So while Nickelback is no stranger to being a music-world punching bag, the tide may be turning. And just in time: the band is currently at work on a new album.