R.I.P. Fake News: Avril Lavigne Is ALIVE

“Sk8er Boi” fans can breath easy; Avril Lavigne is alive. And on Sunday, she shared proof that she was still kicking with a Mother’s Day pic dedicated to her mom. 

Happy Mother's Day to my incredible mother and everyone else's mom's out there! pic.twitter.com/IiBPYyWfFa

— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) May 14, 2017

Nevertheless, the ever-churning rumor mill continues to speculate that the real Avril Lavigne is dead, and an imposter has replaced her. It’s the conspiracy that just won’t die, and to mark the 15th anniversary of her debut single “Complicated,” conspiracy theorists had to “go and make things so complicated” by resurfacing the death rumor. 

If you aren’t familiar with this theory, a blogpost dating back to 2011 from a Brazilian site should bring you up to speed. The basic idea is that Lavigne, who was at the peak of her career at the time, committed suicide after her grandfather’s death in 2003. Rather than accepting what happened, Lavigne’s record company used Melissa Vandella— Lavigne’s doppelganger— in her place to continue to profit from the celebrity. Here are the main points of the argument: 

Her second album was named “Under My Skin” 

The blogger claims this album title suggests the “new” Lavigne is “living under the skin” of the actual Avril Lavigne. “Note that the name ‘Avril Lavigne’ is written in black, representing mourning the singer, and the ‘new’ Lavigne is in black with a red cross on his shoulder. The name ‘Under My Skin’ is red. The colors on the cover seem to suggest mourning and blood.” Yeah, we’re not entirely convinced a color scheme proves an artist is dead. 

Her lyrics became much darker.

This one is on the money here. Lavigne’s lyrics transformed from “He was a skater boi/I said see ya later boi” to “In a city so dead/So high hanging/In such a fragile rope,” which is admittedly far “moodier.” But seriously, if dark lyrics are proof a star is dead, we should be concerned about 65 percent of Hollywood. 

She changed her look. 

The blog claims because Lavigne dropped her punk girl aesthetic after the first album in favor of a more mainstream vibe, “you will realize that they seem to be two different people.” 

Which brings us to today. Late last week, Twitter user @givenchyass brought the death conspiracy back to life with a long thread explaining it all. It begins with this tweet, which has over 100,000 retweets and 160,000 favorites:

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

— 🅴 (@givenchyass) May 13, 2017

And then this: 

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

— Kelly (@kellyblaus) May 14, 2017

And this: 

@givenchyass Okay so I was looking at these and the corners of their eyes are shaped differently and now I'm geeking pic.twitter.com/ag2G37NsSt

— A (@ashlynnktigner) May 14, 2017

Again, none of this is true, but photos like this continue to resurface and act as a fodder for those who want to believe. And for that reason, this probably isn't the last we'll hear from this conspiracy.