Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger Will Not Talk About Backlash Against the Band ‘From This Day Forward’

Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger is hopeful a new documentary, Nickelback: Hate to Love, will put to rest any discussions of the backlash the band has received through the years.

And if not, he won’t be weighing in anymore. “I’m over it,” the 48-year-old told PEOPLE and other media outlets Friday at the Toronto Film Festival, which hosted the world premiere of the film.

Though the rockers are wildly successful massive hits like “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph,” the Grammy-nominated musicians have become somewhat of a punchline for comedians and others through the years.

The documentary, directed by Leigh Brooks, doesn’t shy away from showing that part of the band’s history—and the title even leans into the subject matter.

Brooks tracks Nickelback’s rise from humble beginnings in Alberta, Canada, to international superstars. He documents how, after they soared to unbelievable heights in the mid-2000s, they became the butt of cruel jokes just as social media began to become popular.

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“These guys paved the way for us all to get abused online,” Brooks told PEOPLE at the premiere.

He includes in the documentary visuals of memes that labeled the rockers “Nickelhack” and clips of comedians dissing the band, including Brian Posehn, who quipped on Comedy Central, “No one talks about the studies which show that bad music makes people violent. Like, Nickelback makes me wanna kill Nickelback.”

Bassist Michael Kroeger, 51, the brother of lead singer Chad, chalks up the hate to what he called Tall Poppy Syndrome. “When the tall poppy gets too tall, somebody’s got to cut it down to size and everybody’s willing to jump in, especially when they can be anonymous cowards,” he told PEOPLE.

Chad was initially reluctant to discuss that part of the story in the film, but bandmate Ryan Peake, 50, convinced him otherwise.

“We get to take the narrative. We get to actually tell our version—it’s like you turn the cheek for as much as you can, and then at some point it’s like, here’s our take on it,” said Peake.

Asked by PEOPLE why he was hesitant to discuss the negativity, Chad grew passionate. He took this reporter’s recorder and held it as if he were conducting the interview.

“If somebody stuck that thing in your face every single day and said, ‘The whole world hates you like this, the whole world hates you. What do you have to say about that? Every single day. Every day. Would there be reluctance on your behalf to talk about it? Would you get pissed off? Would you be over it after a while?”

He answered his own question. “I’m over it,” he continued.

“We made a documentary, everybody can watch it. And now from this day forward, if anybody asks that question in the press, it’s like that’s the end of the interview. So if you want to end an interview, that’s all you have to say and that will be it,” he said.

Nickelback: Hate to Love does not have a release date.