Avril Lavigne was replaced by a look alike in 2003, after she died by suicide. The theory is that she was struggling with her fame and once she found out that her parents were getting a divorce, she killed herself. At this point the claim is that she was replaced by a look alike named Melissa who wrote about Avril’s death in her later albums. This conspiracy ebbs and flows, it resurfaces every few years and social media goes wild with theories about what happened to Avril. The first appearance of this theory was in 2012 on a supposed fan website for Lavigne that was (somewhat) poorly written in Portuguese.
There are many people who have come up with evidence that this is true, including, her face structure is different mostly her nose, she has gotten smaller in stature, and most prevalently, she said she would never wear preppy clothes and starting around the time they claim she died, she did start wearing “preppier” clothes. There are also theories that her voice sounds higher, her signature has changed, certain birthmarks or freckles have shown up or disappeared over time, and even that she started to do photoshoot and music videos showing more skin.
On the other side of this theory, people are confused as to why there would be an imposter in the first place. Stating that she wasn’t terribly popular or influential at the time, but they still wouldn’t have been able to hide news that she had killed herself. Avril has confronted the media saying that this conspiracy is dumb and of course she hasn’t been replaced, but isn’t that what a clone would say??
A few years later a mysterious internet goer posted on a blog that they had made the whole theory up to see how easy it was to make people online believe what you say, after this people still believed that Avril was dead, and Melissa had taken over as New Avril. They had invested so much, both emotionally and in researching her that they couldn’t not believe the theory. It was hard for people to believe that Avril may have just changed overtime and moved away from her angsty teenage-like ways that everyone came to know so well.
Contextually, these beliefs started online, in blog-form. It didn’t take long for the “news” to spread to different websites and social media platforms, it started with fans of Avril and eventually got to the point that anyone and everyone was catching wind of it and spreading it further. The influence of the internet keeps this theory alive, even after people have been told that it isn’t real, and it was made up. Overall, people find it hard to disbelieve something once they have been shown ‘solid’ evidence that it was real. Many people find it hard to not notice all of the little differences between ‘Original Avril’ and ‘New Avril’. It is too weirdly interesting of a topic for them to not investigate it and find out whether or not what they see is what they should believe.
Sources:
“Avril Lavigne Is Not Dead – & She’s Not Dumb.” FASHION Magazine, 12 Feb. 2019, fashionmagazine.com/culture/avril-lavigne-conspiracy-comeback/.
Bassil, Ryan. “Investigating the Conspiracy That Says Avril Lavigne Was Killed off and Replaced With an Actress.” Noisey, VICE, 1 Oct. 2015, noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/r7pebb/was-avril-lavigne-killed-off-and-replaced-with-an-actress.
“Why Is Nobody Talking About The Fact Avril Lavigne Died And Was Replaced With A Clone?” Punkee, 13 July 2018, punkee.com.au/nobody-talking-fact-avril-lavigne-died-replaced-clone/52385.
Feinberg, Ashley. “Did Avril Lavigne Die in 2003?: An Internet Conspiracy, Explained.” Gawker, blackbag.gawker.com/did-avril-lavigne-die-in-2003-an-internet-conspiracy-1734185142.
“Avril Lavigne Murió y Fué Sustituida!” Avril Lavigne Murió y Fué Sustituida!, avrilestamuerta.blogspot.com/.
This is one of my favorite contemporary extraordinary beliefs because it seems to be such a fun mix of both widespread pop culture and early internet culture. The entire theory has a certain hint of the early days of MySpace and the chain emails and texts of the early to mid 2000s. Additionally, from what I’ve seen of this belief on Twitter, there seems to be a large number of people who engage with it ironically or with a suspension of disbelief akin to watching a science fiction movie. For instance, most posts I’ve seen about this belief seem to be parody.
I wrote about this one as well! I think it is really such an interesting belief because it’s so easily disproved but in a much realer sense no one can definitively say it is false because none of us know her. I like the title you used a lot, it catches the gist of the claim but it also makes it funny because honestly it is slightly humorous.
I always hear about this theory every few years, with new articles popping up on my timeline. One of my friends became very invested in this theory and was trying to tell me all about the whole avril/melissa theory. We heard about this before when we talked about the cult group who’s belief only strengthened after they were disconfirmed. It’s insane to believe that this happens!
I absolutely love pop culture conspiracy theories, because they all seem to toy with the idea of a darker side of the entertainment industry. This theory also reminds me of the ones surrounding the Pussycat Dolls, or Britney Spears, and it begs the question of just how deep fans are willing to dive into a celebrity’s life in order to give some type of explanation for their current behavior, especially if it involves more superficial ideas or actions such as those involving plastic surgery or genre change.
I laughed out loud reading the title of this post. I have heard about this multiple times over the years. It is scary that our minds can work in mysterious ways and still use confirmation bias to continue to believe something, even after it has proven to be untrue. This is exactly why I try not to believe everything I read online, regardless of how ridiculous the claim is. But if I did believe everything I read was true, then chocolate cures cancer and vaccines must cause autism.
Is it weird that I don’t know who she is. I have never heard about Avril before reading this post. But I checked her up on google and read a surprising amount about her death. I just don’t understand one thing, why are there so many conspiracy therories surrounding celebrities. It’s like people automatically are most invested in these fake news when its about a celebrity.
I had never before heard this theory about Avril. However, I see why some may believe she either killed herself, or is using a body double, or both. In the early 2000s she was very popular, and then seemed to disappear over night. I liked how you included though that her popularity was not that of a huge super star. Thus, not making since that she would feel the need to go into deep hiding. I think it is interesting that the person responsible for the original rumor came forward, stating they made the whole thing up. I am sure there are still individuals who believe this theory.
First of all, your title for this post is GOLD – I actively laughed out loud when I read it! My friends and I used to talk about this conspiracy all the time because of just how ridiculous it is, but we never took the time to actually look into it – thank you for posting this!
Side note: Sk8r Boi came out in 2002, so at least we know that this BOP of a song was written by Old Avril!
Honestly, that was my first thought! Pretty much all of her good music came out during the period of “Old Avril” so we can have faith that she was our true icon.
Yeah, I too remember when this resurfaced not too long ago. Conspiracy stories like this one always seem to have a devout following- whether that be due to belief or just the sheer entertainment. It really is reminiscent of conspiracies that have to do with older kid shows like courage and rugrats, being something that the younger generations can recognize and then go on to question.
This conspiracy sounds very interesting because I have never heard of the one like this. Instead, I have heard and saw lots of conspiracy that some celebrity dead and many people retweet the memorial post. It successfully aroused the public’s attention by adding different elements to the topic. The clone is the most controversial topic in the world and since the cloned human was rejected because of the moral issue. I think someone behind this conspiracy may want to get people’s attention to the rejection of clone, and Avril Lavigne ( a celebrity) was the victim in this topic to bring a trend.
I personally love this conspiracy, I find it hilarious. I love that people point to all the physical difference between Avril and the clones. As you get older you change. Your body changes, your preferences change, your opinion changes. If you were to look at a picture of yourself at age 13 I’m sure most of us would look and act very differently than we did at 13. I think that most of these difference can just be chalked up to growing older. Also plastic surgery exists too.
First, I have to agree with many other people who have said the title of this post is pure GOLD. It should have earned you an A immediately.
Second, I find this conspiracy so fascinating. It is truly amazing what people will start to believe if you show them enough wacky “evidence”. I can also see a lot of similarities to the people who believe in the flat Earth. At what point are people able to finally admit that something they believed is extremely wrong? I know it is even hard for myself to admit that I am wrong sometimes about small petty things, but this seems to be a bit extreme.
Hello!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I have seen articles on this theory before and I used to listen to her when i was little! I find this idea so strange but interesting because she isn’t the first celebrity to be accused of this. I think it would be crazy to some how cover up someones death and find a legit clone to take over their life. Wouldn’t the family want to mourn her death if she did kill herself? Why would they want to basically replace her. I find this super strange of an idea to me. She definitely just grew up and matured and I find these theories to be funny!! Great post!
Hi, really enjoy reading your post. I think these kind theory often happens when the idol changed their lifestyle and the fans could not accept that kind of transition. These kind of things may happened in our daily life. For example, today’s parents might have a hard time to accept their kids’ growth, so they contribute these changes to another source like video games or internet. These all come from the desire of bing able to control their life and significant others.
If Avril truly did commit suicide, there is no way in the world that her parents would standby and let someone impersonate the existence of their little girl. Her parents and others who knew her would immediately dispel the conspiracy. Additionally, what motives would Melissa have for taking Avril’s spot, and how would she sustain her position indefinitely? And, if Melissa was impersonating Avril, then someone would have to step in and impersonate Melissa and so on and so forth.
I had the same thoughts, and found many people saying maybe her parents didn’t even know. There are a lot of inconsistencies in this theory that could easily disprove it, but like the flat earthers, people will do anything to speak their mind. (Also because I’m the president of a mental health organization, I have to say please say “died by suicide” instead of “committed”, it’s one of the things we learn in suicide prevention training!)
The Avril Lavigne theory was one of the most absurd celebrity theories that have surfaced to the public. The physical features people claim are evidence for someone taking her place is unrealistic because as a celebrity she could always alter her body to look how she wants. There have been multiple celebrities who have been shocked to hear about their own deaths because they were confused about how those rumors spread. The media has too much influence on people’s mind if they believe that’s true.
I think the clone is always hot-debated question around the world because of the moral issue. But I don’t believe the clone can completely replace a person. Avril’s parents should notice their daughter has died and nobody can replace her but even now her parents still don’t say anything. Also, there is no evidence that can prove Avril did suicide before the appearing of Melissa. There are many flaws in the Mellissa, and I think it’s only created by the clone hobbyists.
I will never understand why people get so invested in celebrities conspiracies, but most of the ones that I hear are that they faked their death. I feel like how is it not possible for people to think that she just changed her taste in clothes or got surgery for her nose. I agree with what the blog post says, what would she have gained? During that time she wasn’t that influential. Also, it seems people can’t decided if she was cloned or replaced by a doppelganger so how will they strengthen their argument? I think this is just a way fans decided to grasp onto the Avril they knew, so they kept this conspiracy alive.
Personally, this is the first time i’ve heard about this conspiracy… I don’t know what that says about me, but I find it hilarious that people believe she killed herself and then got replaced by another person. If “Melissa” were to take Avril’s spot, I believe that most of Avril’s original fan base would veer away from the act indefinitely. I can kind of parallel this example to the idea of Adam Lambert taking up the front man position of Queen. I’m sure there are a lot of Freddie Mercury fans out there that can only listen to Queen with Freddie singing the songs. Whether we know it or not, we are pretty smart when it comes to detecting fraud like activities when it comes to our favorite celebrities. They are always in the limelight, and there is no way that Avril’s family or friends would ever let someone else take the spot of Avril after death. In my mind, I think everyone changes in life to some degree. With popular bands, it’s no different! Avril Lavigne, as well as other celebrities have changed since 2002. I truly believe this was just a way for a fan to complain about Avril’s new direction when approaching music. Nice post!
I remember learning about this belief in 7th grade and being so convinced that there could be a cloned Avril, but at the same time I realized maybe she had some plastic surgery or what not, I mean the kardashians don’t really look like they used to either, perhaps they were replaced by clones (just kidding)? This belief reminds me of how some people believe one of the beetles was replaced by a look alike.
I actually never heard of this theory myself but I think its really funny to think that if Avril disconfirmed that theory, those people believing in it are saying “of course thats what a clone would say”. So it is interesting that even if the person itself wants to tell the truth they do not believe in it and twist in so that their believe stays persist. I never looked or heard of that theory, so if they’re saying she started dressing differently or maybe even her nose changed it could be explained. People change styles all the time or some celebrities do get nose jobs or other surgeries.