Avril Lavigne has debunked that conspiracy theory that she's actually dead, but has she really?

It is an unwritten rule that everyone is allowed to believe in one conspiracy theory, and only one.

Perhaps you’ve settled on one of the more niche ones, like Tupac still being alive, or gone big by believing in the assassination of Pope John Paul I.

A favourite of the internet age is that Avril Lavigne died and was replaced with a lookalike shortly after the release of her debut album Let Go in 2002, and those who believed the theory felt Lavigne’s silence on the matter was deafening.

Thankfully, then, the Canadian singer has addressed what might just be the most detailed conspiracy in music. Well, at least someone claiming to be the Canadian singer has done that.

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Back in the early 2010s, a theory began surfacing on a few Brazilian blogs that Avril Lavigne had died some time between Let Go and follow-up album Under My Skin.

BuzzFeed journalist Ryan Broderick shared the ‘Avril Esta Morta’ [Avril is Dead] blog to a wider audience, and the site goes into significant detail.

As the theory goes, Lavigne started using a lookalike when struggling to deal with her new-found fame, before she died and the lookalike assumed her identity permanently. It includes comparisons of Lavigne’s voice pre and post ‘death’, as well as supposed changes to her height and facial features.

The theory was later expanded upon in a no-longer-available Twitter thread naming the lookalike as Melissa Vandella. The account behind the thread has been suspended, which could be for valid reasons but might also mean this is a conspiracy that goes right to the top.

The author of the original Brazilian theory may have later said it was a hoax designed to show how easy it was to spread fake theories online, but that hasn’t stopped more people delving into the idea that an actress named Melissa has been playing the role of Lavigne for more than a decade and leaving clues in song lyrics.

It is now being reported that Lavigne has ‘debunked’ the rumours, but has she really?

“Some people think that I’m not the real me, which is so weird!” she told KISS 1065, as reported by Metro.

“Like, why would they even think that?”

I don’t know about you, but that sounds exactly like what the fake Avril would say if she was trying to throw people off the scent.

The jury, therefore, is still very much out.

(Images: Getty)