Avril Lavigne Addresses Death Hoax, Body Double Conspiracy Theory

Avril Lavigne -- or someone presenting as her -- is eye-rolling about the long-held conspiracy theory the real Avril has been replaced by a lookalike, but she also realizes they could be saying a lot worse.

The singer-songwriter hopped on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast Wednesday where host Alex Cooper asked about the wild rumor claiming she died back in the early 2000s, and the woman now calling herself Avril ... is really an actor named Melissa Vandella.

Avril says the theory's totally ridiculous ... 'cause she says she's definitely her -- and the whole idea she's not is just "dumb."

Of course, if you buy into the conspiracy, that's exactly what you'd expect Melissa to say.

All the same, this Avril says she's just fine with folks spreading the tall tale, because -- as rumors go -- this one's pretty tame, as compared to other more creepy and damaging rumors.

Avril says she feels she's not the only artist to get hit with this kind of conspiracy theory, and she's right on that count. For instance, there's the "Paul Is Dead" conspiracy about Paul McCartney, who some people believe actually died in 1966.

Basically, it's not a conspiracy specific to Avril, and she says she's not sweating it because it's just so outlandish. Watch the clip -- Avril and Alex can't stop cracking each other up.

As for why the reclusive Lavigne's talking about this -- she's got a greatest hits album coming out next month ... and her 'Greatest Hits' tour kicks off soon, so she's trying to get the word out.