A protester ran onstage at the Juno Awards, and Avril Lavigne had some words

Award shows are live, and even though producers work tirelessly to make sure everything goes smoothly, sometimes surprises can still arise. 

On Monday evening, Avril Lavigne took the stage at the 2023 Juno Awards in Edmonton and was greeted by an unexpected guest. There to introduce one of the evening’s performers, Punjabi-Canadian rapper and singer AP Dhillon, Lavigne was reading from the teleprompter when a topless person appeared behind her. When Lavigne finally spotted the person, whose back had the words “save the green belt” written on it, she yelled, “Get the f–k off.” After security escorted the protester offstage, Lavigne tried to bring the attention back to Dhillon, telling the stunned crowd, “This is his moment.” 

Lavigne later returned to the Junos stage when she won the night’s final award, the TikTok Juno fan choice. When she walked up to receive the trophy, she was quick to warn anyone else who wanted to crash the stage: “Now nobody try anything this time or the Canadian is going to come out of me, and I’m going to f–k a bitch up.” 

Backstage, Lavigne laughed, telling people in the media room: “That’s definitely going down as one of the highlights.” Host Simu Liu added, “It was just the most Canadian way ever that she was just gently escorted offstage.” 

When she wasn’t cursing up a storm, Lavigne took time to thank her fans, who helped the pop-punk star win the fan choice honour. “Last year, I celebrated the 20th anniversary of my debut album, Let Go,” she said. In those years, she noted that she’s “seen the industry change so much — music change, the business change, technology change; trends come and go, artists come and go — but the one thing that’s been most consistent for me is my fan base over the past 20 years.”

Last year, Lavigne also released her seventh studio album, Love Sux, which marked her return to pop-punk. The album and its lead single “Bite Me” scored five Juno nominations this year, making her the second-most nominated act. The TikTok Juno fan choice was her only win.