Late last year, legendary singer Avril Lavigne was fending off rumors that she had died and been replaced by a clone.
Now, people with wild theories are once again coming for her, but this time the accusations are a little less scifi.
Avril is promoting her new music, and fans are accusing her of denying Jesus and selling her soul to the devil.
Back in February, Avril Lavigne dropped her new track: “I Fell in Love with the Devil.”
“I fell in love with the devil / And now I’m in trouble / I fell in love with the devil / I’m underneath his spell (ah),” the lyrics read.
The lyrics continue: “Someone send me an angel / To lend me a halo / I fell in love with the devil / Please, save me from this hell.”
“Angels and devils always fight over me (fight over me) / Take me to heaven, wake me up from this dream,” Avril sings.
Her lyrics go on: “Even in sunlight a cloud shadows over me (shadow over me) / It’s now or never, wake me up from this dream.”
Now, she is sharing photos believed to be either outtakes or behind-the-scenes glimpses at her music video.
In the images, she wears long robes of black while standing in the woods.
She is holding a truly massive cross clutched in her hands.
To fans who have followed her since the early 2000s, she is looking every bit the gothic-chic look to which she aspires.
And, for the record, she spoke out about he Christian faith, thanking God for her life during her Lyme disease battle several years ago.
But Avril’s history and a common sense understanding that lyrics tend to be poetic rather than literal did not seem to influence some haters.
“You need Jesus,” accused one follower, who noted that they also despise another recent song, “Head Above Water.”
“God saved you and blessed you with another opportunity to choose,” the comment continued. “Now you have this crap? Man, what a shame.”
“I’ve been a fan since you came out, [but] this is a turnoff,” the hater declared. “Get your soul right with Jesus.”
“[He’s the] only one who can save you,” the former fan wrote. “Yet you hold his cross and blaspheme his name? I pray for your salvation.”
“Are you Christian?” another follower demanded to know. “Or are you mocking of Jesus?”
Oh boy.
“I’ll [have] to unfollow you now,” another fan declared.
“How can you fall in love with Devil when God created you with amazing talent, which made [you] so famous?” the way too serious follow asked.
“Thank God for the blessings, not Devil,” the commenter concluded.
“God, keep my head above water,” reads a quote from Avril’s other recent single.
But clearly, that was not enough of a declaration for some of her followers.
“God, keep my head above water…falls in love with the devil? Ummmm k. No, thanks,” wrote another goofy hater.
The comment continued: “He’s not someone to be playing with. But you do you.”
Well that last part was kind of nice, even if they were being sarcastic.
“Still think her ‘Head Above Water’ is about God?” asked one follower, hoping to be seen by fans. “Nope.”
“You need Jesus, young lady,” admonished another.
“So disappointing to see you playing with religious symbols,” another decried.
That same comment added: “I’m a huge fan, but I don’t really, really like it because I am a Christian.”
For the record, actual religious minorities who are marginalized see their religious symbols misued across almost all media.
In this case, it’s not even clear that that’s happening. It’s a Christian woman with a cross.
“A lot of you guys are saying about how Avril is making fun of God and making satanic references by this song and photo,” a defender observed.
“The metaphor, ‘I fell in love with the devil,’ means that she fell in love with a bad person and she was in a toxic relationship with them,” the comment reasoned.
“Another example of this is her song, ‘Birdie,'” the actual fan with reading comprehension wrote.
The explanation continued: “She is basically saying that she fell in love with a bad person.”
“And,” the defender adds. “She is praying to God to help her manage and break free when she says, ‘Someone send me an angel.'”
“So don’t comment s–t before you actually listen to and understand the song,” the fan concluded.