The Avril Lavigne death conspiracy theory is back to haunt us all

                               

 Where were you when iconic punk princess Avril Lavigne released her debut album? If you were like most young millennials in 2002, you were probably screaming “Sk8r Boi” at the top of your lungs and coating half your face in black eyeliner. Flash forward to 2013: Lavigne released an overwhelming, kawaii-themed video for her track “Hello Kitty.” Not only was the video obnoxious and widely criticized for being full of cultural appropriation,  it was a total departure from Lavigne’s original work. “Complicated”  Avril had exchanged her all-black wardrobe and signature guitar-smashing  angst for bright pink miniskirts and bleached blonde hair. Why the  dramatic change? Where was skater punk Avril?

 According to one widespread internet theory, the answer is that  Lavigne is dead and has been replaced with a lookalike actress  reportedly named Melissa Vandella. The theory was first posted in  2011 on a Brazilian Lavigne fansite, but has continually resurfaced every few years to shock and horrify fans around the world. In its most recent reincarnation, the theory was posted in a tweet thread Friday by Twitter user @givenchyass,  who prefaces the thread with a necessary disclaimer: “I’m not sitting  here being like ‘this is 100% facts’ it’s literally just a theory so  calm down and miss me w[sic] that headass shit.”