Avril Lavigne conspiracy theory claims she ‘died and was replaced’ before Glasto

Avril Lavigne took Glastonbury festival by storm over the weekend, performing a medley of her biggest hits from Complicated and Sk8er Boi, to My Happy Ending. The-39-year old expressed her disbelief over waiting for 22 years to finally grace the stage, while praising the energetic crowd for their unwavering support.

“The audience were incredible, everyone was up on shoulders, holding signs and there were colourful smoke bombs going off, it was just so cool,” she gushed to the BBC. The singer’s latest performance may finally put an end to the long-standing conspiracy theory that Avril supposedly died in 2003 and was replaced by a doppelganger named Melissa Vandella.

The bizarre theory is thought to have originated from a Brazilian fan-page titled ‘Avril Esta Morta’ (‘Avril is Dead’) in 2011, although some argue it started when she took a break after releasing her album Let Go. The rumour suggests that a lookalike named Melissa was hired by Avril’s team at the height of her fame to distract paparazzi.

More bizarrely, it claims she was brought in to conceal the singer’s alleged death. However, the BBC reports that the website later retracted the claim and stated that they published the theory to demonstrate how easily internet conspiracies can spread.

Joanne McNally delved into the peculiar speculation on the BBC Sounds podcast, Who replaced Avril Lavigne?, reports the Mirror.

She found that the rumours were rampant when Avril returned to music after her break from the spotlight.

Analysing online chatter, Joanne noted that fans observed that the singer had “totally changed” her image from a teenage rock star to “a bubblegum pop princess” following years of absence.

She went on to share her thoughts about the eagle-eyed detectives who also suggested that Avril’s eyes and height appeared different, as well as the pitch of her voice.

Moreover, it was claimed that the popstar’s signature had been noticeably altered since the early days of her career.

Avril herself has previously dismissed the rumours as “dumb” and expressed her astonishment that people believed them in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly.

In a conversation with Galore Magazine three years later, the Complicated singer remarked: “It’s funny because everyone says I look the same, but then there’s that. That doesn’t make any sense. Also, how random?”.

“When people mention it, and it’s been mentioned to me for, like, years, that there’s this conspiracy theory that I’m not me or something? I’m a clone?”.

“How did something like that get so… I don’t know, it’s just the weirdest rumour.”

Meanwhile, as Avril’s set unfolded across screens last weekend, fans flocked to the platform X to share their thoughts.

One wrote: “Just sat watching the #Glastonbury videos, and it’s safe to say I still fancy the f**k out of Avril Lavigne 20 years on.”

A second commented: “Avril Lavigne smashed it. I remember little me back in the day wearing ties over my tops to look like her, she’s still gorgeous too! #Glastonbury.”

“One of my many core memories from Glastonbury this year will be Avril Lavigne finishing Sk8er boi and then immediately afterwards England had scored a stoppage time goal,” a third added.