Avril Lavigne Clone Conspiracy Explained: Singer Laughs Off False Rumor—Here’s How It All Began
Topline
Internet users have spread a false conspiracy theory for more than a decade that the singer Avril Lavigne had died and was replaced with a lookalike actress shortly after her breakthrough in the early 2000s—which she laughed off this week.
Key Facts
The false conspiracy theory suggests that Lavigne, known for her early 2000s hits like “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi,” died by suicide shortly after achieving mainstream fame because of difficulties adjusting to the pressures of fame and the death of her grandfather.
Posing as Lavigne in her place, the theory suggests, is an actress named Melissa Vandella, who bears a striking resemblance to the singer.
According to the theory, Vandella was first hired to pose as Lavigne for paparazzi pictures and was later tasked by Lavigne’s record label to record music in the supposedly late singer’s place.
As “proof” of the theory, fans have scrutinized Lavigne’s appearance, including her face and stylistic choices, suggesting that Vandella has a slightly different facial structure and that Vandella wears more skirts and dresses, while Lavigne opts for pants.
Some have also suggested Lavigne’s lyrics offer hints to the clone conspiracy—like her 2004 song “Nobody’s Home,” which contains lyrical references to depression and feeling out of place.
Theorists have also pointed to one photoshoot where Lavigne has the word “Melissa” printed on her hand, as well as perceived changes in the singer’s handwriting over time.
News Peg
Lavigne addressed the conspiracy theory in an interview with the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week, obviously denying it, saying , “It’s so dumb.” Lavigne said she didn’t mind the theory, stating there could be worse rumors spread about her. Users continued to make jokes about the conspiracy in the TikTok comments section: “That’s totally something Melissa would say,” the most-liked comment says.
Key Background
The rumor is thought to have started with a blog post made by a Brazilian fan in 2011 titled “Avril Está Morta”—which translates to “Avril is Dead” in English. The lengthy article introduces several different types of “evidence,” including analyses of Lavigne’s song lyrics and close examinations of her face and appearance. The theory exploded on the internet in 2015 when Buzzfeed posted a tweet thread highlighting the claims in the Brazilian blog post. Shortly after, news outlets including Paper Magazine and Vice published articles recapping the bizarre theory. The hoax, and related conspiracies, including a separate theory that Lavigne died in a snowboarding accident, have occasionally resurfaced on social media throughout the years. One thread posted in 2017 on X, then known as Twitter, declared in its first post that “avril lavigne is dead & was replaced by a look alike” before recapping the theory. The thread went viral, with its first post retweeted more than 140,000 times.
Surprising Fact
The rumor garnered renewed attention once again in February when Irish comedian Joanne McNally covered the theory, as well as other internet conspiracies, in a BBC Sounds podcast titled “Who Replaced Avril Lavigne?”
Tangent
Lavigne is far from the first celebrity to be targeted by a death hoax, though conspiracy theories about clones are less common. Paul McCartney was the target of a similar rumor in the 1960s that he died and was replaced in The Beatles. A misheard lyric in “Strawberry Fields Forever” led some listeners to believe John Lennon said “I buried Paul” instead of “cranberry sauce,” and a caller to Russ Gibb’s radio station in 1969 claimed playing the song “Revolution 9” in reverse makes one lyric sound like: “Turn me on, dead man.” A false theory spread that McCartney had died in a car crash in 1966. The Beatles repeatedly denied the veracity of the rumors, and Life Magazine published a cover story in November 1969 declaring that he was, in fact, alive.
Further Reading
The Avril Lavigne Death Hoax That Won’t Die (Rolling Stone)
The Avril Lavigne conspiracy theory returns (BBC)
‘Paul Is Dead’: The Bizarre Story of Music’s Most Notorious Conspiracy Theory (Rolling Stone)
