Avril Lavigne Is ‘Dead’ Again: What You Need to Know About the Conspiracy Theory

Because time is a flat circle, the internet is trying to kill Avril Lavigne. Again. 

That’s right, over the weekend, a Twitter thread explaining in numerous tweets the conspiracy theory behind Avril Lavigne’s alleged suicide cover-up from 2003 went super viral.

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

— ? (@givenchyass) May 13, 2017

If you don’t give a shit about Avril Lavigne or never read Noisey‘s 2015 piece on the theory (which seems to have blown up over in Brazil), here’s a quick explainer on Avril Lavigne’s “death.”

Avril Lavigne apparently didn’t want to be in the spotlight, so she is said to have hired a woman names Melissa Vandella to impersonate Avril out in the public. This had been going on for some time, to the point where they even taught Melissa to sign and sound like Avril. In 2003, it’s said that while Avril was working on her 2004 sophomore album Under My Skin, her grandfather passed away; this is why the album is darker and more depressing. Allegedly distraught with his passing, Avril is said to have hanged herself in late 2003, but because Avril’s star was shining bright, they threw Melissa (who apparently was walking around, singing, and sounding just like Avril) into the position to “be” Avril from then until now.

Now back in 2015, the person behind this conspiracy claimed it was an experiment to prove that you can make the internets believe anything, but it looks like people are still going ham on this. Oddly enough, the squad over at Pigeons & Planes investigated this very conspiracy back in April of 2017 (with their tongues placed firmly in their cheeks).

[youtube ytid=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxyeJ7pjSo&w=640&h=360%5D

Avril herself was asked about this conspiracy during an interview in Brazil back in 2014, and her response didn’t convince anyone who would need Maury to come through with the DNA results (skip to the 6:19 mark).

[youtube ytid=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvINUk3ypzw&w=640&h=360%5D

After @givenchyass’ thread went viral, heads started commenting with their own “proof” of Avril’s “death,” because why wouldn’t we want to further investigate this situation?

okay but look at the difference of the jawline!! avril in 2002 (left) vs melissa in 2014 (right) @givenchyass CONSPIRACY CONFIRMED pic.twitter.com/FFBnji9emw

— goth princess (@angeldelemuerte) May 14, 2017

@givenchyass BIIIH SHE REALLY TRIED TO TELL US pic.twitter.com/YSgVMHP3sD

— Kelly (@kellyblaus) May 14, 2017

@givenchyass avrils old handwriting vs a latest tweet ???? pic.twitter.com/1cwBbgSBfy

— the sweetest heart (@privatelaprip) May 14, 2017

So many questions. Is this just insane Brazilian Avril fans being a bit too passionate about their punk princess? Does the internet really need to chill with killing celebrities? Do we really need to do a wellness check on Avril Lavigne? I asked some of my Complex co-workers and got a bunch of jokes, although one response did make me stop and think.

“The real question,” asks Complex OG Russ Bengtson, “is did Avril Lavigne ever live?”

Facts.