The earliest conspiracy theories can be traced to ancient Rome, when it was widely believed that Emperor Nero faked his own death.
Some would say it’s only natural to be a little bit nosy about the secret lives of those in the public eye. But to be a modern celebrity in 2025 means much more than that – whether you’re dead or alive, a flock of TikTok-wielding armchair sleuths are out there, probably making wild conclusions about you, using everything from hidden meanings in your reversed song lyrics to searching for signs in your body language.
The internet’s most recent theory goes beyond the death hoax theories. It concerns the rumoured feud between singer Selena Gomez and model Hailey Bieber, who is married to Gomez’s ex-boyfriend and fellow pop star, Justin Bieber. Pop culture agents on TikTok have concluded that Hailey placed a curse on Gomez to swap destinies with her and reap all of the goodness from her life. Is any of it true? Absolutely not. That’s why they’re called conspiracy theories.
Believe us, there’s plenty more out there. Below, we run through the biggest conspiracy theories in music, where they came from and if there’s any truth behind them (spoiler, they’re completely baseless)…
10) Taylor Swift and the 2024 presidential election
As the frenzy surrounding the 2024 Super Bowl reached a fever pitch, Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, found themselves the subject of multiple right-wing conspiracy theories.
A number of baseless rumours swirled, from claims that the pop star had played a part in Pentagon psychological operations to the allegation that she and Kelce were key to a plot to help then-president Joe Biden get re-elected.
The certifiably ludicrous claims were fuelled by political and media figures including former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, political activist Laura Loomer and One America News Network host Alison Steinberg.
Joel Penney, an associate professor at Montclair State University, told The Independent at the time that the attacks were likely an attempt to preemptively blunt Swift’s potential influence on the 2024 election: “Pop culture people identify with this stuff, they pay attention to it. And that’s what moves politics now. It’s attention and identity.” Roisin O’Connor
9) Jim Morrison isn't dead
Earlier this year, a new three-part documentary about late The Doors frontman Jim Morrison delved into a particularly wild theory that the singer faked his own death. Before The End: Searching for Jim Morrison, put together by Doors superfan Jeff Finn, was released on Apple TV+ and other streaming platforms.
One of the key points of self-proclaimed “evidence” in Finn’s documentary is a maintenance man, Frank, apparently pictured with The Doors drummer John Densmore back in 2013, whom Finn believes could be Morrison in disguise. Yet even Frank seemed baffled by the idea. Asked directly, “Are you Jim Morrison?” he answered: “I’m not Jim… except I love the song [‘We All Are One’] by Jimmy Cliff.”
Morrison died suddenly in Paris in 1971, aged 27, from heart failure. Morrison’s body was discovered in a bathtub at his Paris apartment by his long-term girlfriend, Pamela Courson, with whom he lived. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death served to fuel his legend and, more than 50 years later, his grave at Père-Lachaise cemetery remains one of the city’s most popular tourist sites. ROC
8) Paul is Dead
The widely known “Paul is Dead” conspiracy theory suggests that The Beatles frontman Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. Some theories suggest that it was the bandmates’ choice to conceal the death because they couldn’t deal with the loss of the singer (and nor could their fans). Others have suggested that this wasn’t by choice, but they were forced into it. The theory suggests that over the years, the remaining Beatles started to feel guilty about the lie, and began leaving clues and messages in their music to communicate the truth to their fans.
The most far-fetched piece of evidence is the cover of the 1969 album Abbey Road, in which McCartney is pictured walking barefoot and out of step with the other Beatles, which is believed to be symbolic of a funeral procession. Others have pointed out that in the photograph, McCartney is holding his cigarette in his right hand although he is left-handed. However, the more plausible explanation is that the singer almost always held his cigarette in his non-dominant hand, and that he took off his sandals that day because they were uncomfortable.
McCartney himself spoke about the theory in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1974, saying: “Someone from the office rang me up and said, ‘Look, Paul, you’re dead.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I don’t agree with that.’” Ellie Muir
7) Lorde is actually in her forties
When Lorde first soared into the public’s attention in 2013 with her hit song “Royals”, aged 17, the maturity and artfulness of her songwriting had some critics convinced that she was older than she claimed. The theory was fuelled by apparent “slips” during interviews, such as a 2014 conversation with Rookie Mag in which she said a book had resonated with her “as a teenager… I mean, I am still a teenager”.
The conspiracy theorists, who came to be known as “Lorde age truthers” on social media, also cited lyrics from her 2013 song “Team”, on which she sings: “I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air/ So there/ I’m kinda older than I was when I revelled without a care/ So there.”
Lorde herself was wise to the rumours, even poking fun at them in a Vanity Fair interview when asked. “Hi, I’m Ella, and I’m actually 45,” she said. However, the theory seemed to be put to rest when a reporter for Hairpin published her birth certificate online. ROC
6) Elvis faked his own death
Music fans love to speculate over the mortality of an apparently dead icon – and the King of Rock’n’Roll is no exception. It has been claimed that Presley has been sighted numerous times after his death from a heart attack in August 1977, as part of the baseless conspiracy theory that suggests Presley faked the event.
In the Eighties, the topic of Elvis sightings gained widespread media attention after a fan claimed she saw him at a Burger King in Michigan, and the theory was then publicised by authors including Gail Brewer-Giorgio, who – in her book Orion – suggested that Presley faked his own death, and Major Bill Smith, who circulated tapes that he claimed proved that Presley was still alive.
The conspiracy got so much media attention that several TV specials have been aired on the subject, including The Elvis Files (1991) and The Elvis Conspiracy (1992). However, the claims are completely unproven given the fact that he was found dead at the time by his girlfriend, Ginger Alden. EM
5) Stevie Wonder isn't really blind
Celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal and Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, are among those to have speculated that legendary soul artist Stevie Wonder isn’t really blind.
Wonder was born six weeks premature and suffered from retinopathy of prematurity, a disease that aborts eye growth and can cause the retinas to detach, rendering him blind from infancy. Yet that hasn’t stopped many doubters – or “Stevie Wonder Truthers” – from airing their theory that Wonder isn’t completely blind, or isn’t blind at all.
“We lived in a building on Wilshire [Boulevard],” O’Neal told NBA on TNT in 2019. “So you park your car under, the valet is down there. I’m already in the building, I’m coming through the lobby.
“The [elevator] door opens. It’s Stevie Wonder. He comes in, says, ‘What’s up, Shaq?’ [He] presses the button, gets off on the floor by himself and goes to his room. “I went and called every person I knew and told the story.”
“I used his songs in Atlanta and you have to ask for special permission. I called him, I got his number. So we’re texting, [which is] already crazy,” Glover recalled to Jimmy Kimmel during an appearance on the show in 2018. “I’m like, ‘Hey Stevie I want to use your song.’ He's then like, ‘Well send it over, let me read it. It gets turned into Braille, gets sent to him, he reads it and then we don't hear anything.”
Then Glover got the first rough cut of the episode back, and told Wonder he wanted to see how it worked with his track. “He just texts back like, ‘Man, I love it,’” Glover said. “All the time I'm like, ‘How'd he do that?’ Like, touching the TV screen like, 'This is funny?'”
Wonder spoke about the rumours to The Guardian in 2012, saying: “Do you know, it's funny but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being Black as a disadvantage. I am what I am. I love me! And I don't mean that egotistically – I love that God has allowed me to take whatever it was that I had and to make something out of it.” ROC
4) Avril Lavigne replacement theory
When Avril Lavigne exploded into the music industry in a flurry of tartan, fishnet and teenage angst in 2002, she was the girl of the moment. But, according to a popular replacement conspiracy theory that originated on a Brazilian fanpage, Lavigne struggled with fame at the beginning of her career so much that her label began using a body double named Melissa Vandella to stand in for her.
The theory suggests that Lavigne actually died shortly after the release of her debut album, Let Go, in 2003, so her team began using Melissa full time. The “proof”? The real Lavigne wore trousers, while Melissa wears girly dresses and skirts, as well as supposed changes to her facial features and voice compared to pre-2003 Lavigne. Fans also suggest that Melissa added clues and subliminal messaging to allude to the situation, such as in 2004’s “Slipped Away”, which contains the lyrics: “The day you slipped away was the day I found it won’t be the same.” (Of course, that song could be about losing a loved one or a breakup).
Other “evidence” includes images of Lavigne from a photoshoot in which she had the name “Melissa” written on her hand.
Lavigne has responded to the theory several times over the years, and most recently told the Call Her Daddy podcast: “It’s so dumb. Honestly, it’s not that bad. It could be worse, right? I feel like I got a good one. I don’t think it’s negative or anything creepy, so it’s like, we’re good.” EM
3) Michael Jackson is actually alive
Everyone remembers where they were when they learnt the news that Michael Jackson died in 2009. The dramatic circumstances surrounding his death and the ensuing court case that saw his doctor Conrad Murray, who had prescribed the drugs, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011, only made the circumstances seem murkier – and that was before the conspiracy theories began.
Despite the legal investigation and inquest into his death, some fans believe the King of Pop faked his own death in order to escape the crushing debt and allegations of child abuse he was faced with at the time. Shortly after news of his death in 2009, a hoax video emerged purportedly showing Jackson alive, stepping out of a coroner's van, which was later revealed to be fake. And yet, fans continually pick apart details about the days surrounding his death, while images of “faked” death certificates often resurface on the internet.
Hundreds of videos shared online zero in on footage of what is thought to be a living Michael at Jackson family events and awards ceremonies, lurking in the background wearing a disguise. Some rumours have suggested he either lives in Gloucestershire, England or Bahrain. There’s a whole site dedicated to spotting him, called michaeljacksonsightings.com. However, none of this has ever been proven or backed up with substantial evidence. EM
2) Justin Bieber can transform into a lizard
It’s not always possible to trace conspiracy theories back to their origins, but one such rumour involved Justin Bieber and a bizarre “story” that claimed hundreds of fans had witnessed the world-famous pop star turn into a slimy reptilian creature.
At first, the report seemed to come from Australian news publication Perth Now, with a screenshot of a supposed article doing the rounds on social media.
“His head shrunk and his eyes went black with a black stripe down the middle,” screenshots of the story said. “He grew a few feet taller and had gross [colored] scales all over his body. It happened so fast but everyone saw it and started screaming and crying. A lot of people were running for the exits.”
Perth Now denied publishing the story, pointing out that its website does not capitalise the first letter of each word in its headlines, along with the fact that the weather forecast was incorrect for that date in the screenshot circulating on social media. ROC
1) Hailey Bieber swapped destinies with Selena Gomez
Since model Hailey Baldwin got engaged to Justin Bieber just months after his split from Selena Gomez in 2017, rumours have suggested that the two women are constantly feuding behind-the-scenes, with Baldwin allegedly making subtle jibes about Gomez on social media and even copying her on occasion (Baldwin and her representatives have consistently denied these accusations, while Gomez has urged her fans to stop attacking Baldwin online).
Most recently, though, the rumour mill has churned out a new conspiracy theory that suggests that Baldwin used mystical and spiritual methods to switch destinies with Gomez. The theories mainly live on TikTok, but the idea with destiny swapping is that one individual can use witchcraft to replace another’s destined path, absorbing their energy, opportunities and even physical traits. A bit far-fetched, right?
Gomez wrote on Instagram in 2023: “Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity. This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.” Whatever you think about the relationship between the two, seemingly harmless rumours have snowballed into wild and implausible claims. Give it a few months before another theory arrives. EM
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