Avril Lavigne Isn’t Dead: Putting an End to the Conspiracy Theory
The concept of a high-profile celebrity secretly dying and being replaced by a clone or look-alike is nothing new. These conspiracies have been around since at least the 1960s when Beatles fans claimed that Paul McCartney had died in a car crash and been replaced by a doppelganger in order to spare fans from grief, and conserve the most lucrative rock band of all time. In 2011, a similar rumor began to swirl about Canadian-born pop punk princess Avril Lavigne. It’s no secret that her image has changed in the 21 years since she released her first album, but fans of the singer believed there was more to it than met the eye. Images and videos comparing Lavigne’s appearance, demeanor and voice throughout the years launched a theory that she had died back in the early days of her career and was replaced by a lookalike.
Being that I grew up an avid Avril fan, I kept up with the various blog posts, articles, and podcast videos that discussed the alleged evidence. I was really taken in by how much her mannerisms, voice and attitude had changed over the years. But I have spent months dissecting photo comparisons, interviews, blogposts, message boards, and song lyrics, and have made discoveries that could potentially put this entire conspiracy to rest.
Avril Lavigne is a singer-songwriter from Napanee, Ontario who first saw mainstream success in 2002 with hits such as “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi.” During an era when most girls wanted to be as glamorous, feminine and effervescent as pop divas such as Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne presented an alternative aesthetic and feeling: One of smudged black eyeliner and straight hair falling in her face. One of baggy cargo pants and wristbands up her arm. One of angst and rebellion. Lavigne’s edgy attitude, passionate lyrics and punk-pop sound really cut through the poppy and saccharine tunes on the radio at the time, and she quickly carved a name for herself as a hit maker. Her debut album Let Go sold 16 million copies worldwide, and garnered her eight Grammy nominations.
From Let Go to her 2004 album Under My Skin, her aesthetic underwent a noticeable change. She went for more post-grunge inspired look with more severe makeup, and grittier elements and storylines featured in her music videos. Many of her songs such as “My Happy Ending” and “Nobody’s Home” recounted the stories of a very lonely persona scorned by love and abandoned by family. The album - which Lavigne had more of a hand in the production of, was a very apropos follow up to the debut album.
Nothing felt quite out of place until she dropped her 2007 album entitled The Best Damn Thing. In this era, Lavigne emerged with pink extension in her hair and a poppier sound to her songs. Her hit song “Girlfriend” was a power pop anthem featuring a cheer chant similar to Toni Basil’s “Hey Mickey”. In the music video, Lavigne dressed as two different personas vying for the same man. One had her tomboy skater aesthetic and black hair, while the other was a prissy red head with glasses and a pink cardigan. But the third version of herself who narrates the video, was styled somewhere between the two. She had a spunky attitude, a rocker edge, and her signature eyeliner, but was also styled with a plaid miniskirt, high heels and her bangs in a bouffant.
This change in aesthetic, style of music and most importantly overall attitude of her work left longtime Avril stans perplexed and wondering what has happened to the angsty tomboy they knew who would have rather died than don a pink tutu with cupcake appliqué.
The Theory
For those who aren’t familiar with the “Avril Lavigne is Dead” Conspiracy, here is what it claims:
Following the success of her 2002 album Let Go, Avril Lavigne becomes overwhelmed with the pressures and demands of mainstream success. This bout of depression is exacerbated by the loss of her beloved grandfather in March of 2003, which was paid tribute to in concert with a heartfelt rendition of “Tomorrow.” In the depths of her depression and bereavement, Lavigne takes her own life. Her management team and/or record label then conspires to cover up her tragic death by replacing her with a decoy. One version of the theory states that Lavigne was cloned, while another version claims that her managers hired her existing body double named Melissa Vandella to replace her full time: Recording subsequent albums, touring as Lavigne, and portraying her in press interviews.
Below is Lavigne’s performance of “Tomorrow”, which was dedicated to her grandfather on the day he passed away.
The Alleged Evidence
Once the theory got out there, image comparisons of Avril’s face and handwriting began to go viral, as well as a photo that fans alleged was proof she was trying to tell us all that she was no longer who she claimed to be.
Avril’s Appearance
Comparisons of Avril Lavigne’s face throughout the years from the Avril Está Morta blog
Let’s rewind all the way back to 2011 when this theory was first brought to light by the Brazilian blog Avril Está Morta (Avril is Dead). The blog’s owner showed side by side comparisons of Avril Lavigne’s face throughout the years, noting that while a small round birthmark in the center of her eyebrows had stayed the same, another one above her right eyebrow disappeared after 2003.
The above text in Portuguese, “A nova Avril não tem o sinal no círculo azul.” literally translates in English to “The new Avril does not have the birthmark in the blue circle.” “O sinal no círculo vermelho foi copiado pela nova Avril mas não ficou a mesma coisa”, literally translates to “The birthmark in the red circle was copied by the new Avril, but it didn't stay the same”.
I agree that there are some changes in Avril’s appearance over the years. Examples include the disappearing mark above her eyebrow and the change in the shape of her nose to be specific; However cosmetic surgery could easily explain away the change in her nose, and as we all know not every mark on our face and body stays with us forever as we age. An even more benign explanation could be that the flesh-colored bump was the result of an ingrown eyebrow hair that of course faded with time, while the mark in the middle of her eyebrows could be true birthmark. In addition to the realities of aging (gracefully in Avril’s case,) and the transformations that come with plastic or cosmetic surgery, we can’t forget the magic of makeup, lighting, and photo editing that may give someone a different appearance year to year or photo to photo.
A comedic infographic, parodying the conspiracy theory
For me, the most damning evidence as to whether or not she was replaced by a double would be if there was a drastic change in the appearance of her teeth. Teeth are one of those traits that are difficult to duplicate. Oral cavities as well as the shape of people’s teeth are so individual, that dental records are one of the most tried and true methods of identification in forensics. And from what I’ve seen, her smile has remained virtually identical. I think this end of the theory would hold more weight if her teeth had changed drastically, or she appeared to have had a set of veneers put in.
A comparison of Avril Lavigne’s teeth through the years.
Handwriting
Another aspect of the theory includes an analysis of the singer’s handwriting. Fans have compared the style of her penmanship from two different writing sessions: One example where her writing seems looser and more cursive-like, and the second where her writing is in print with more defined spacing between each letter.
Lyrics to "Let Me Go" in Avril's Handwriting, 2013
Lyrics to “Warrior” in Avril’s Handwriting, 2016
This piece of evidence actually flies in the face of the main theory, in which Avril dies in 2003. The “original” writing style sited is dated back to 2013, when the alleged clone or doppelgänger would have already been living as Avril for almost a decade.
And while the writing style in the two photographs does seem different upon first glance, I believe that what we’re looking at here is the difference between writing in a thick Sharpie-like marker, and a ballpoint pen, and the fact that she used all capitalized letters in the word “CHORUS” in the second image. Notably, the word that is all in-caps from the lyrics to “Let Me Go” is the word “CHORUS” at the bottom, in a very similar writing style to the second image.
Another example I’d like to bring to light is the note below, which the blog Avril Lavigne Philippines posted in 2013. It displays a combination of Avril’s handwriting styles shown in both the “Let Me Go” and “Warrior” lyric images.
Note to Avril Lavigne Philippines in Avril’s Handwriting, posted 2013
The Melissa Vandella Effect
This image of Avril added to the conspiracy theory that she had been replaced. People speculated that she posed for a photograph with the name Melissa written on her hand to hint at her secret identity.
Over time, Melissa Vandella became the commonly used name for Avril’s doppelganger. Theories suggested that she was a look-alike that Avril had used as a body double to throw off paparazzi (something that is very common for A-list celebrities to do when they require privacy.) And that when Avril died, she had to take over full-time so that the public would be none the wiser.
While I never was convinced of this part of the conspiracy theory, I did my due diligence to research who Melissa was. I found no evidence that Avril Lavigne ever had a body double with that name. And I never understood why the theory would suggest that Melissa would out herself by writing her name down for all to see.
Despite my skepticism, my findings turned out to be fruitful. I researched the origins of the image with writing on Avril’s hand, and it led me right to the source of this chapter of the theory. Just as the theory states, there actually is a Melissa, and she isn’t who you think she is; however, she isn’t Avril Lavigne either.
Melissa is an Avril Lavigne superfan and founder of the site Avril-L.org. Since 2004, this Winnipeg-based blogger has been dedicated to documenting everything about Avril Lavigne from her music, style, persona, and press. Below is an image of Avril with Melissa of Avril-L.org back in 2011.
Avril with Avril-L.org owner Melissa, 2011
Melissa’s name became wrapped up in the lore of the conspiracy when the photo of Avrilwith Melissa’s name went viral. The image is actually part of a 2013 fundraiser the Avril Lavigne Foundation held in partnership with Prizeo. In celebration of Avril’s birthday, they had a goal of $50,000 in donations from fans, which would benefit the Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. Fundraiser donors were entered into a raffle for a trip to New York City to join Avril on the red carpet of the premiere of her self-titled 2013 album.
To promote the fundraiser, Lavigne participated in a photoshoot where she wrote down the names of noteworthy donors both on her skin, and on paper. Examples I’ve found from this photoshoot include the words “Thank you Craig” in her writing on a piece of paper, “Avril Bandaids Italia” on her left forearm, and of course “Melissa” written on her right hand. “Melissa” is written in a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, much like the aforementioned handwriting samples.
Melissa of Avril-L.org expressed her excitement of Avril’s acknowledgement of her via Twitter.
She also responded to Avril’s tweet regarding the fundraiser meeting its goal. It turns out that a photo of Avril Lavigne paying homage to one of her most dedicated fans was taken out of context and used to spin up deeper lore regarding the theory that she was dead.
Now that we know the origin of the first name Melissa being part of the conspiracy, you might be wondering where the last name Vandella comes from, as Melissa the owner of Avril-L.org doesn’t specify her last name on her website.
The best theory I have is that it rhymes with “Mandela.” Some of you know where I’m going with this, while others are probably scratching their heads. But you read correctly: Mandela, as in Nelson Mandela. Back in 2009 a woman named Fiona Broome blogged about the fact that for years she misremembered Nelson Mandela passing away while imprisoned, forgetting his release in February of 1990 and his term as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1997. At the time of her revelation, Nelson Mandela was still alive. Broome garnered attention when her readers and acquaintances began to reach out to her that they had misremembered the same events as her, down to recalling non-existent news coverage of his death, as well as a memorial speech made by his wife. She coined the term “Mandela Effect” to describe the phenomenon of collective false memories. Internet conspirators have used the phenomenon as proof of the existence of parallel universes where the false memory took place. Other notable Mandela effects include misremembering the spelling of The Berenstain Bears as The Berenstein Bears with an “E”, and misremembering Darth Vader’s iconic line in The Empire Strikes Back as “Luke, I am your father,” when in actuality he said “No, I am your father.”
I believe that after two years of the Avril Lavigne theory floating around the internet and the injection of the name Melissa as so-called evidence, that fans threw in the last name Vandella because it sounded like the Mandela Effect, which is all about a conspiracy that deceives the public. Coincidentally, Nelson Mandela passed away shortly after the Prizeo photoshoot images were released. It’s possible that he inspired the last name Vandella because he happened to be on everyone’s minds.
Avril Responds
It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room: Avril Lavigne herself. People wonder why the songstress has never sufficiently addressed the rumors. It’s part of why this rumor has persisted for over a decade.
The closest thing we have to an acknowledgment of the conspiracy by Avril is an interview she did back in November of 2018 on Australia’s KIIS 106.5 with hosts Kyle and Jackie O.
This part of the discussion begins at the 3:33 mark in the video above.
“Jackie O: Did you laugh at the rumors that went around, where you no longer exist and there’s a clone of you? So you died like years ago, and there’s a clone pretending to be you?”
Avril Lavigne: “Yeah, some people think that I’m not the real me, which is so weird! Like, why would they even think that?…I look the same!”
Jackie O: “Even when I was looking at the…conspiracy theory, I’m like ‘Do you know what? Maybe they’re right.’ Like you read a conspiracy theory, and you get sucked into it, because they’ve got so much evidence that proves you’re not real. But that one - of all the conspiracy theories - was probably the most far-fetched.”
Avril Lavigne: “Oh my goodness…So [explicit] dumb!””
Not that anyone would expect an Avril clone or doppelganger to admit that the rumors were true via radio broadcast. Fans have demanded that Avril do more to prove her identity such as have a DNA test performed, or further discuss her feelings on the conspiracy. I think that she realizes that the interest in the conspiracy drums up interest in her year after year, and figures that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
While I don’t believe this conspiracy to be at all true, I find it fascinating. Not only is it entertaining, but its existence tells me a lot about Avril Lavigne’s brand and how much it means to her fanbase.
Avril’s Image
Now that we’ve put to rest the minutia of the theory, we can discuss the real reason why fans have entertained it for so many years: The fact that Avril seems to have changed so much as a person since her debut. In this case, there is some truth behind the conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with death, clones or doppelgängers.
Whether you’re an Avril fan for life, or whether your last experience of purchasing her music was buying Under My Skin at Border’s bookstore, you cannot deny how much she’s changed aesthetically and musically throughout the years. Her hair, makeup, and clothing have become girlier, her music has gotten poppier, and her attitude has more of a confident exuberance to it, than the angst and ennui of her first album. Regardless of your level of loyalty to Avril, you must admit that it’s hard to imagine the sk8er girl herself wearing a pink tutu or dancing to the “Hello Kitty” song.
But to assume that this change in her music and overall aesthetic is some sort of scandal is to ignore an entire chapter of her career. She had in fact already made a change to her image and her identity before we - the general public - ever met her.
Back when Avril was just starting her music career, she was known for singing covers of country songs at fairs. Artists who she covered included Garth Brooks, the then Dixie Chicks, and fellow Canadian songstress Shania Twain, who she even got the chance to sing alongside after winning a radio contest. She in fact was discovered by her first manager while in her country covers era.
As she began writing the music for her first album, she had simultaneously discovered a sense of belonging among a clique of skaters from her high school. And thus the skater persona we remember from our first impressions of her was born.
When it comes to music, image is everything, and consistency is part of what solidifies your image. So Lavigne was asked to tweak some of her songwriting habits to match her image. In fact, one of the songs she originally intended for Let Go, was given to an entirely different artist altogether.
Lavigne is in fact the original writer of the hit Kelly Clarkson song, “Breakaway”; However the song was plucked from her debut album as it was deemed “unsuitable” for the record.
“I just didn’t like it. It was like a ballad…It felt like a church song.”
Clarkson’s version of the song was released in 2004 as part of her second studio album of the same name, as well as the soundtrack to The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Being that Clarkson could relate to the lyrics of fame changing your life overnight, all she had to do was make one slight alteration to the lyrics: Changing Avril’s line “And when the snow would fall down” to “And when the rain would fall down”, making it more appropriate for a girl from Fort Worth, Texas.
If every move that Avril Lavigne made as an artist came out of her raw ideas, unaltered by any studio execs or trends in the industry, then she wouldn’t have had to scrap songs based on whether or not they’d fit her image. Her image would simply be whoever she is in the moment. But that’s not how entertainment works. There’s always going to be pressure to push yourself in a certain direction artistically to maintain your brand.
When it comes to listing music artists who started off alternative, and went more streamlined or pop, we would run out paper fast. So it becomes hard for people to imagine someone starting off one way, and going more alternative with their image. But when it comes to this particular musical transformation, the first artist who comes to mind for me is Canadian music artist Alanis Morrisette. People now know her for her post-grunge aesthetics and edgy lyrics, but she was initially a more standard pop artist similar to Tiffany. Morrisette’s transformation and major success following Jagged Little Pill is a testament to how much profit there is to be made in selling an alternative image that relates to an audience on a different frequency than a shiny sexy pop icon.
Avril Lavigne did not emerge from the womb with eyeliner on and a skateboard in her hand. Much like any of us who have styled ourselves in an alternative fashion, it comes from a simultaneous feeling of both wanting to fitting in with a different crowd, and wanting to stand out as an individual.
Who Really is Avril Lavigne?
There is no way for any of us to know who Avril really is beneath the eyeliner, hair coloring and varying pop punk aesthetic ensembles. The truth is, like any artist - or human being in general - she is some of the things we see on the outside, as well as many things we don’t get to see. And with an over 20-year-long career, it’s natural that she’s going to go through an evolution.
Before her first album even was released, Avril had already written lyrics where she expressed that she had to “Take a chance, make a change, and breakaway.” And as an evolving artist, she has every right to do it again. Artists make changes to their image and sound all the time. So why did it hurt a generation so much when Avril Lavigne did the same, to the point where people had to make claims about her being dead or cloned? Because her image and attitude spoke to us so deeply. Her attitude was so relatable, her feelings were so strong and raw, and she reminded us not of how we dreamt of being, but how we actually were. And seeing her become more feminine, more polished, and poppier felt like a betrayal to the person we felt we knew like a friend back in the day.
Who is the “real” Avril? It’s possible that all of her aesthetics from the past could have been the real her throughout the years. Or perhaps just one. Or perhaps none of the artistic choices have truly represented who she was. There’s no way to know if you don’t know her personally.
But just like how she has every right to change her look and the sound of her music, fans have every right to engage with any and as many chapters of Avril’s career as they’d like. Those who follow her as an individual and an artist can relish in all of her endeavors from her country covers to “Bite Me”; While others like myself can keep their enjoyment to the era that was most relevant to us. Any change in her music, style or attitude doesn’t have to ruin your childhood, or they way any particular song or album made you feel. Avril with her reddish-brown hair in her face wearing camo cargo pants and singing about skater boys can exist in a vacuum if it’s what makes you happy.
Things don’t have to be so complicated.
