Yep, you read right, there is a theory doing the rounds, claiming Avril Lavigne died a while back.  According to ripleys, the earliest source of the theory comes from a Brazilian Avril Lavigne fan page with a title that roughly translates to, “Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by a lookalike?” The blog was posted in 2011, and it’s possible that many people didn’t translate it completely. Even the writer admits they wanted to pull together coincidences to create their own conspiracy theory. A portion of their blog translated conveys that the theory is based on real elements presented in a persuasive way, but that it isn’t fact.

People who believe in, or just enjoy contributing to, the theory that Lavigne was "replaced", have created a name for the double: Melissa Vandella. Some versions of the theory suggest that Lavigne hired an actress named Melissa who bares an uncanny resemblance to Lavigne, due to pressure stemming from her fame. However, others suggest that the “double” is a clone made by her record company.

The invested conspiracy theorists will point to a number of coincidences to defend the theory. For one, fans say that her style has changed too much for it to be the same person. There are also certain lyrics that people point out when defending the theory, like in the song “Together” where conspiracy theorists look at the line, “The truth isn’t far behind me,” and think this is actually Melissa sending a message.

Die-hard fans of Lavigne’s initial style also use the theory as a way to explain Lavigne’s deviation from the style they fell in love with. They think that where the original Avril Lavigne would wear pants and a tie, it must be her clone wearing dresses. Read more on this article by clicking here, and while you do that, you can have a quick nostalgic moment with the video below.