Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne performs live at Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea,on February 19, 2014 Getty Images/Chung Sung-Jun

KEY POINTS

  • Avril Lavigne attended the Juno Awards in Canada Monday night
  • Lavigne was onstage when a topless woman protesting against the development of protected land came up
  • Social media users supported the protester's cause but not the way she protested

Avril Lavigne was having none of it when a topless protester interrupted her speech during the Canadian Juno Awards Monday night.

Lavigne was introducing a performer, Canadian singer and rapper AP Dhillon, at the annual event in Edmonton, Canada, when a woman who was wearing only pink pants and a matching durag joined her onstage and showed off the messages written all over her body, as seen in a video shared by Pop Crave on Twitter.

The phrases "land back," "save the green belt," and "stop logging old growth now" were written on the unnamed woman's skin, with pasties covering her breasts. According to Entertainment Weekly, the messages were seemingly a reference to the Ontario, Canada, government's proposal to build tens of thousands of homes on a protected piece of land called Greenbelt.

The "Complicated" singer attempted to continue her speech but eventually confronted the woman and told her, "Get the f--k off. Get the f--k off, b--ch."

Shortly after, security escorted the woman away.

Later in the evening, Lavigne returned onstage to receive the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award and jokingly warned the crowd: "Now nobody try anything this time, or the Canadian will come out in me and I'll f--k a b--ch up."

The incident sparked mixed reactions on social media. Some online users praised Lavigne for how she handled the situation, while others feared for her safety. A number of people supported the protester's cause but disapproved of the method she used and where she did it.

"She handled the situation well, but her whole security team should be fired because she could've gotten seriously hurt," one fan wrote of Lavigne.

"Great job @AvrilLavigne for handling it professionally!! This wasn't the time or place to do a protest. I get the meaning, but they gotta stop having their Kanye moment," another added.

"So for those that don't live in Canada or Ontario, Doug Ford, the premier, wants to sell hectares of green belt (nature) land to developers - this woman was protesting against that," Jay Corey from Canada explained on Twitter. "A great message, but she should have picked a different way and location to do it, maybe one where people would remember her message more than the medium."

"Well, she sure brought awareness to this issue. [To be honest], I didn't know this was happening until I saw this thread," another added.

Last year, the Ontario government issued new regulations to remove 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land and open it up for housing, with 50,000 new homes set to be built by 2025, the BBC reported.

The move is under investigation by the province's auditor general and integrity commissioner.

Meanwhile, Lavigne later took to Twitter to thank her fans for her latest award and share a photo of her holding her trophy. She also seemingly poked fun at the award ceremony incident.

"Thanks to my amazing fans for voting for the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award. This is my 10th Juno Award and 4th Fan Choice Award. Let's keep rocking and cheers to the next 20 years!" she wrote. "P.S. - 'Get the f--k off b--ch!'"

Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne and Ryan Cabrera are reportedly an item. Pictured: Recording artist Avril Lavigne attends the 2016 Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute to Industry Icons honoring Irving Azoff at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 14, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images/Kevork Djaneszian