Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne

A supposed feud between cocky pop princess Avril Lavigne and teen starlet Hilary Duff is nothing but talk, says Duff, who expects to run into the Canadian singer at tonight’s MuchMusic Video Awards.

Duff says the multitude of tabloid reports detailing tantrums and tirades between the pair are complete fiction, insisting the chart rivals are nothing but friendly to each other.

"We’ve had dinners together and I’ve been over to her house, she’s a nice girl," Duff, 19, says of Lavigne, 22.

"I don’t understand why people are putting us against each other. . . . There’s nothing going on between us."

Talk of a rift dates back years, when Duff was quoted as slamming Lavigne for criticizing fans that mimic her tie-and-tank-top look. Lavigne retorted in the press by calling Duff a "mommy’s girl" and telling her to "screw herself."

Most recently, gossip websites carried reports of a raging Lavigne when Duff arrived at a Maxim party in New York at the same time she did.

Duff says there’s no truth to that supposed clash, adding she’s looking forward to enjoying the MuchMusic gala, known for a carnival-like atmosphere in which fans and celebrities mingle and where a prima donna catfight would not be completely out of order.

Last year’s bash featured a showdown between former Canadian television personality Mary Jo Eustace and former teen queen Tori Spelling, who took up with Spelling’s ex-husband Dean McDermott the year previous.

Eustace surprised many by turning up at the party with more stories of the humiliating split, and flanked by friends who yelled "homewrecker" when Spelling passed by.

Guests this year include an assemblage of the famous and famously notorious: party girl and plastic surgery survivor Tara Reid, hot chart-toppers Maroon 5, sexy singer Fergie, Lavigne’s husband’s band SUM 41, and screamo band the Used.

Of late, Reid’s biggest claim to fame has been the succession of botched plastic surgeries that mutilated her breast and stomach area.

The American Pie actress, also known for late-night escapades with ex-friend Paris Hilton and for inadvertently flashing a boob to paparazzi at a P. Diddy party in 2004, says she’s become a lot more mature in her 30s.

"It’s just getting older, I don’t have the same energy I used to have," Reid says from Los Angeles.

"I’ve definitely tamed down a lot from my crazier days, but I still, I mean, who doesn’t want to have a good time?"

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine says he and his band generally try to stay away from the celebrity circus.

"I don’t love it," Levine says of the media frenzy that comes with being a rising star. "You can choose to stay out of it. I think that’s just what we do, naturally."

Recent reports of young starlets spiralling out of control have not gone unnoticed by Duff, who thanks a strong network of family and friends for keeping her grounded.

Duff says she feels really bad for a lot of girls that apparently need to wrestle their demons in the spotlight — but others, she says, just "like the attention."

Sensational stories of late have involved the drug-addled Lindsay Lohan, the imprisoned Hilton, the pantyless Britney Spears and Lavigne and her spit bombs.

"It’s funny that I’m a good girl just because I haven’t been to rehab or I’m not going to jail or I’m not having crazy pictures taken of me or getting in fights with people," Duff says.

"I like to go out, I like to have a good time like everybody else but I just don’t, I think, do it to the extent that they do."

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Hilary Duff will give a performance for Much Music tonight, and don't forget: she is nominated to "Best Internacional Artist" and "Favourite Internacional Artist". So vote!