Singer Avril Lavigne Calls Out Mark Zuckerberg For Bullying Nickelback
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- Avril Lavigne didn't find Mark Zuckerberg's jab at Nickelback in his "Jarvis AI" video very funny at all. In fact, the Canadian singer-songwriter said the Facebook CEO was "promoting bullying."
Zuckerberg released the video Tuesday to introduce Jarvis, his artificial intelligence assistant with the soothing voice of Morgan Freeman. The ubercompetant AI greets him with essential information upon awakening and supports him throughout the day, making toast, answering the door, even giving Zuckerberg's toddler Mandarin lessons.
At one point, the Facebook CEO asks Jarvis to "play us some good Nickelback songs." Jarvis replies, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that (eerie pause) ...there are no good Nickelback songs."
Despite its success, Nickelback has endured years of insults -- from memes, to 'worst' lists -- it is a band many people seem to hate. The band's tour manager Kevin Zaruk told Bloomberg, "It's become trendy to hate Nickelback, and no one even knows why."
In an open letter on Twitter, Lavigne came to their defense:
Dear Mark,
Many people use your products - some people love them and some people don't. Either way, you're allowed your musical opinion however, your jab at Nickelback is in poor taste.
When you have a voice like yours, you may want to consider being more responsible with promoting bullying, especially given what's going on in the world today.
#SayNoToBulying #TheJokeIsOld #NickelbackHasSoldOver50MillionAlbums
xx
AL
Lavigne was once romantically attached to Nickelback's frontman, Chad Kroeger. The pair collaborated on several songs, but split up in 2015.
So far, Kroeger and his bandmates have been silent on Zuckerberg's Nickelback jab.
Check out Mark Zuckerberg's video
Read Avril Lavigne's Tweet:
Dear @facebook, pic.twitter.com/1SCjWVV9TK
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) December 23, 2016