Avril Lavigne has broken her silence over an online conspiracy theory about her that claims she died in 2003.
The long-running rumor, which first gained traction in the early 2000s, claims she is a doppelganger named Melissa.
The theory claimed that Lavigne hired a body double to represent her at public events after she grew tired of being a celebrity.
Further, it was then speculated Melissa was forced to become Lavigne full-time after the singer ‘died’ at some point after the release of 2004’s Under My Skin.
“I mean, it’s just funny to me,” she told Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast.
“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.”
Lavigne’s image changed drastically with the debut of 2007 single Girlfriend, which saw the singer transform from an emo teen into a pink-loving “mother f**cking princess”.
“Honestly, it’s not that bad. It could be worse, right?” Lavigne laughed off the conspiracy. “I feel like I got a good one. I don’t feel like it’s negative. It’s nothing creepy.”
“Obviously I am me, it’s so dumb,” she said, before adding: “I think that they’ve done that with other artists. I’m not the only one. I think, like, other people have that.”
Cooper told Lavigne: “I’m telling you what’s crazy is you haven’t aged. I’m staring at you. And, like, I’m picturing you with your auburn hair. And I’m like, oh my God. You literally look the same from when you were younger.”
It comes following the news that Lavigne is set to release a new Greatest Hits record as she embarks on a global tour.
Meanwhile, in reflection of negative relationship experiences in the past, Lavigne went on to open up about her relationship history and revealed that she’s now focused on finding someone who is “trustworthy, ‘cause if you don’t have that, you’re just never going to feel grounded in the relationship, and you’re going to be spinning.”
“I would date me. I cook,” she continued. “I’m a really big cook, really big into, like, the house and decorating, and I have a lot of fun with that.”
“Rough around the edges,” she added of her ideal partner, noting that she’d like someone “who’s like me, likes to have a good time, but is a solid. I need someone who’s solid that I can lean on.”