Our Lady Peace Re-Releases “Whatever” as Mental Health Awareness Initiative

Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace has officially re-released their song “Whatever” in a new “Redux” version, marking the end of a more than two-decade boycott of the track due to its association with disgraced WWE wrestler Chris Benoit.

The song, which served as Benoit’s entrance theme from 2002 until his death in 2007, was effectively retired by the band following the wrestler’s murder-suicide that claimed the lives of his wife Nancy and young son Daniel in June 2007.

In a statement accompanying the re-release, Our Lady Peace explained their decision to reclaim the song after 23 years: “It’s been 23 years since the tragic events surrounding WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and the theme song we wrote for him. We feel that enough time has passed that it was necessary to re-record ‘Whatever’ to help shine a light on suicide prevention and mental health awareness.”

The band announced that all streaming revenue from “Whatever (Redux)” will be donated to suicide prevention initiatives across North America, transforming the song from a source of controversy into a vehicle for positive change.

Our Lady Peace recently performed the song live for the first time in over two decades during their 30th Anniversary Tour, where they expressed similar sentiments about their desire to “reclaim” their work from its troubled past.

The original track was recorded for WWE’s “Forceable Entry” compilation album in 2002 and became synonymous with Benoit throughout his WWE career. The band had previously stated in 2012 that they would never perform the song again due to its association with the tragedy.

The re-release represents a significant shift for the Toronto-based alternative rock band, who have sold several million albums worldwide and won four Juno Awards throughout their career. By repositioning “Whatever” as a mental health awareness tool, Our Lady Peace aims to transform a painful chapter of their catalog into something meaningful for those struggling with similar issues.