Melissa Vandella, or Avril Lavigne? In 2003, famous, female driven, pop-punk artist, Avril Lavigne died and was replaced with body double, Melissa Vandella. At least that’s what some people think. Some think Lavigne was just tired of the sudden fame after signing a million dollar contract with her record label and releasing her first album Let Go that reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2002. 

Many speculate she died after a Brazilian fan page posted “Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by a lookalike?” article in 2011. Although the article could have been translated incorrectly, many other bloggers and writers have pulled together many coincidences that “prove” Lavigne was replaced by a body double. 

Fans have spotted differences in her facial structure, hair, mannerisms, and style over the years. While Lavigne would wear pants and trousers to events, supposed Vandella would wear skirts or dresses to events. Although there’s not much evidence apart from her changes in style, many think Vandella is trying to send a message to her fans through her music and lyrics. 

“The truth isn’t far behind me,” a lyric from Lavigne’s hit song Together, that fans took as a hint from the artist. 

When questioned about the conspiracy theory surfacing the internet over and over, Lavigne stated, “It’s just a dumb internet rumor. It’s so dumb. And I look the exact same. On one hand, everyone is like, ‘Oh my god, you look the same,’ and on the other hand people are like ‘Oh my god, she died.”

Later on, Lavigne replied to the comments of suspicion in a TikTok video and is seen laughing and poking fun at the thought of the conspiracy actually being true. As her comment section suddenly flooded with questions of her real identity, Lavigne dodges the questions, laughs, and kicks towards the camera. 

Lavigne was also seen in a photo shoot with the word “Melissa” written on her hand and had never explained why or what the reason for the written name was. Lavigne never spoke about the ‘Melissa Photoshoot’.

The Lavigne/Melissa conspiracy is not the only conspiracy about actors hiring body doubles to act as them or dying and being replaced. Most famously known, Paul McCartney. Fans and theorists alike believe McCartney died on the way home from a recording studio in 1966. The rest of the Beatles were worried on how it would affect their music career and fans speculate McCartney was replaced with Billy Shears, a McCartney look-alike. 

There’s other celebrities who also are speculated clones/body doubles such as Megan Fox, Britney Spears, Eminem, and Katy Perry. Some of these conspiracies go to extreme lengths to try and prove the truth, however the Lavigne/Melissa conspiracy is by far the most well known. What do you think really happened to Avril Lavigne and is she still alive, or stuck in hiding?