Popstar Avril Lavigne has been the subject of many online conspiracies over the years, but one dominating theory is that she died in 2003.
The theory spun by theorists and internet sleuths, gained traction in the early 2000s and claimed the Sk8r Boi singer had been replaced by a doppelganger named Melissa.
Other versions of the conspiracy alleged the singer no longer enjoyed the commitments of fame and hired a body double to represent her in the public sphere.
Now, the 39-year-old has addressed the theory on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, saying while it is “dumb” she chooses to look at it as something that is “just funny”.
“I mean, it’s just funny to me,” she said. “Like, on one end, everyone’s like, ‘You look the exact same. You haven’t aged a day.’ But then other people are like, there’s a conspiracy theory that I’m not me.”
She went on to say that the theory is “not that bad” and “could be worse”.
The Girlfriend singer added: “I feel like I got a good one. I don’t feel like it’s negative. It’s nothing creepy.”
While confessing she is “obviously” her, she leaned into the theory stating that “they’ve [conspiracy theorists] done that with other artists”.
The star embodied a grunge emo aesthetic in the earlier years of her career. In 2007, she pivoted to a punk princess with the release of her third studio album, The Best Damn Thing.
Lavigne is set to release a Greatest Hits record later this year. She is also embarking on a global tour. It has not yet been revealed if she will visit New Zealand.
The popstar disappeared from the spotlight for five years between 2013 and 2017 as she battled with tick-borne Lyme disease.
She addressed fans in a post on Instagram upon her return explaining: “Five years have gone by since I released my last album. I spent the last few years at home sick fighting Lyme disease. Those were the worst years of my life as I went through both physical and emotional battles.”
She described Lyme disease as “the battle of my lifetime”, and said she wrote her single, With Head Above Water, “during one of the scariest moments of my life”.
