Avril Lavigne has finally responded to the conspiracy theory she died and was replaced by a clone.
She’s not the first celebrity to have the strange rumour thrust upon them, notable others include Paul McCartney (that’s why he’s not wearing shoes on the Abbey Road cover, apparently), Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé, who’ve all had their mortality questioned too.
For some reason though, it was the theory surrounding Lavigne which seemed to persist more than the others. Perhaps it’s because people saw her as someone more likely to succumb to cloning than the others? Or, for some reason, many people just heard the strange rumour and thought ‘yeah, I can totally believe that’.
The rumour started around 2005, and put the theory out there how the singer had been replaced by a clone called Melissa in 2003. At first, it was said Lavigne used Melissa as a body double, because she was having trouble handling her newfound fame. But then the real singer died, so the record company just kept the body double instead…
Fans and theorists claim there are subtle but various differences between Lavigne and Melissa. For example, the real Avril wears trousers, whereas Melissa opts for dresses and skirts. There are also said to be differences in the facial features of pre-2003 Lavigne and post.
Of course, there are supposed clues in song lyrics too, such as the song Slipped Away in which she sings: ‘The day you slipped away was the day I found it won’t be the same’.
Then, there was this publicity shot, which threw several gallons of fuel on the rumour flames:
Finally, however, Lavigne (or who we presume to be the real Lavigne), has responded to the wild suggestions.
Appearing on Australia’s KIIS 106.5 radio station, the singer was asked:
Did you laugh at the rumours that went around where you no longer exist and there’s a clone of you?
Lavigne tries to laugh it off, and responds:
Yeah some people think that I’m not the real me which is so weird! Like why would they even think that?
Because people love a weird conspiracy theory! And it could definitely be true. Like that thing about penguins not being able to look at planes because they just fall over…
Weirdly though, when posed the question, Lavigne’s phone line started going a bit glitchy, making odd robotic noises and beeping. Could it be Melissa interfering? Or the unknown overlords who are controlling the clone/pop singer trying to swiftly move the conversation away from the awkward topic?
Check it out:
I mean, if that’s not enough to 100 per cent confirm absolutely and undeniably that a pop singer was replaced by a clone, I don’t know what is?
In 2015, Melissa Lavigne was diagnosed with Lyme disease. However, after making a healthy recovery, the singer recently released the song Head Above Water, which is taken from her forthcoming album of the same name.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.