The woman posing as Avril is doppelganger Melissa Vandella

Oct 1, 2015 22:08 GMT  ·  By

Avril Lavigne has not been able to replicate the success of her earlier musical releases, and her fans in Brazil have a theory about how this came to be: the real Avril actually died in 2002 and has been replaced by a lookalike, a clone or a doppelganger.

This sounds almost as silly as still believing that Tupac, Elvis and Michael Jackson are still alive, probably hanging out on their own private and secluded island, but this particular theory actually has many believers.

The real Avril Lavigne is dead

According to the theory, explained in great detail on the Brazilian blog Avril Es Morta (which translates to Avril Is Dead), the real Avril died in 2002, after the release of her debut album, which propelled her to international fame.

Like many other celebrities, Avril had a tough time being famous because, contrary to what we, regular mortals, might believe, becoming an international sensation almost overnight isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Her grandfather died at about the same time, and this plunged Avril into a deep depression. The theory claims that she was found dead at her home by her managers, who then decided, together with the record label people, to keep the tragedy under wraps so they could continue making money off her.

A version of the theory claims that she died in a car accident. The video embedded below is older, and it shows 2 Brazilian TV anchors actually asking Avril if there is any truth to rumors that she’s not the real thing. Apparently, because of her body language, the video “proves” that she isn’t the real Avril.

So, after Avril’s death, a replacement was found in the doppelganger Melissa Vandella. Melissa looks exactly like Avril, but she has certain birthmarks and blemishes that don’t fit those on the real Avril.

A social experiment

As of the time of writing, the blog Avril Es Morta has been updated to include a note that says that it was set up as a social experiment, to show how quickly rumors and conspiracy theories could gain traction online without providing any kind of actual proof.

It was also meant to be a lesson into how we shouldn’t believe everything we read online.

With all that, the conspiracy theory that Avril died many years ago and an imposter came in her stead has been around for much longer. Both videos available below confirm that.