Avril Lavigne's body double rumour returned to attention around the singer's 42nd birthday on 27 September 2026. The long-running conspiracy theory claims Lavigne died in the early 2000s and was replaced by a look-alike called Melissa Vandella. Lavigne has rejected the claim, telling Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy in 2024, 'Obviously I am me. It's so dumb.'
The claim has circulated for years, but its documented online history is less mysterious than the theory suggests. The best-documented origin is a Brazilian blog published in 2011, while some later accounts have suggested the idea may have circulated earlier. The original blog presented itself as an example of how conspiracy theories can appear convincing.
