[imagesource: twitter/givency]

Famous people have always been catnip for conspiracy theorists. Whether it is Paul McCartney who was replaced by a doppelganger after a 1966 car crash, or Elvis being spotted in Hawaii several years after his death, the ‘proof’ of all these stories has always been rather shaky.

But a re-occurring theory about the supposed death, and cover-up, of teen punk Avril Lavigne seems to be growing as several commentators and amateur sleuths have been getting more vocal in their insistence that the chart-topping Skater Girl we see today, is in fact her double, Melissa Vandella.

Vandella was a ‘media double’ for Avril during the height of her popularity in the early 2000’s.

The theory goes that Vandella was originally hired to protect reclusive Lavigne from intrusive media. And that following Lavigne’s apparent death, the record company used Vandella as Lavigne’s substitute.

According to a number of people probably living in their parents’ basements, the truth goes something like this: Avril Lavigne took her own life in 2005 after she lost her grandfather – a loss that devastated the singer at the time. Following the untimely death of their cash cow, Lavigne’s record company decided to replace her with Vandella, who at the time was already contracted to fool the paparazzi.

Sounds a little too much, doesn’t it? After all, if a record company was going to perpetrate such a grandiose ruse, why not replace Amy Winehouse instead? Or even Whitney? But the unlikely story gets interesting if we look at the supposed ‘proof’ that our tinfoil hat-wearing investigators point to.

Following rumours of her death, the artist’s voice and appearance seemed to change slightly, as well as her beauty spots and handwriting. In addition to this, the singer appeared with the name ‘Melissa’ written on her hand in a later promotional photoshoot. Ok, so perhaps this ‘proof’ is a bit thin. If you want to go down the rabbit hole, have a look at the below twitter thread and decide for yourself.

avril lavigne is dead & was replaced by a look alike: a conspiracy theory thread pic.twitter.com/9eearQ2rte

— givenchy (@givenchyass) May 13, 2017

Lavigne’s absence from public life has only fueled the conspiracy fires. In 2022 she did however release a new album, which obviously contained all sorts of ‘clues’ for anyone nutty enough to believe the theory.

I would have been the first to dismiss a story like this if it had not been for the fact that I saw Elvis working at a Spar in Delportshoop when I was younger. I even got his autograph. Promise.

[source: theconversation & twitter/givenchy]