It must be hard to be Nickelback, the Canadian post-grunge band that has become synonymous with awfulness and subjected to near-constant ridicule by critics and audiences alike (hey, we didn’t say we were innocent). Earlier this week, Chad Kroeger and the boys became the butt of yet another joke when police in the small Canadian town of Kensington threatened to make drunk drivers listen to Nickelback’s third album, Silver Side Up, on their way to jail.
As TMZ reports, Nickelback are not thrilled that the joke went viral and acted quickly to shut it down. A spokesperson for the Kensington Police confirmed that a rep for the band demanded that the Facebook post be removed. This isn’t the first time Nickelback have stood up for themselves in the face of ridicule, and perhaps it’s a signal that they’re officially tired of being mocked. Good luck, fellas.
Update, December 5th: CNN reports that the Kensington Police have apologized for using Nickelback’s music as a threat (funny as it was) and have removed the original post from their Facebook page. In a new post, Constable Rob Hartlen expressed regret that “the message of Don’t Drink and Drive was overshadowed by negativity towards the band I said I would play if you did,” and for bullying “4 human beings from Alberta who were dragged into this international story.”
“… I love being able to be a symbol of what is right and just with our world,” Hartlen wrote. “And because of that fact, how could I, later this week, 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. How would I tell my son he was wrong for picking on a kid in the playground when I was doing the same thing, but I was doing it not on the local playground, no, I was doing it on a global scale to a global audience.”
He also addressed the band members directly, saying, “I am sorry to Chad, Ryan, Mike and Daniel. Not as just members of Nickelback, but more importantly as fellow Canadians. I’m sorry guys because I didn’t take a moment to think of you AS just guys … As Canadians we are better than that. We don’t embrace being a bully and being cruel and belittling of the work others have done. We strive for acceptance, for equality and fairness.”
Read the full statement below.
