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in an article about conspiracy theories a mural of former president Donald Trump drinking disenfectant

10 Bizarre Pop Culture Conspiracy Theories

Sometimes the truth is stranger than (science) fiction.
November 22, 2022
9 mins read

From the world allegedly ending in 2012 to the Mandela effect, conspiracy theories have grown in popularity over the past decade, most of them revolving around celebrities and the government. When it comes to conspiracy theories, there’s a long and crazy list.

1. Katy Perry Is JonBenét Ramsey

JonBenét Ramsey was a beauty pageant queen who was murdered at six years old in her family’s home. Ramsey’s murderer was never found, and many believe that Ramsey was never actually murdered. However, many people believe she is still alive and performing as famous pop singer, Katy Perry. Some claim that Ramsey’s parents and Perry’s parents look exactly alike, and that Perry and Ramsey had the same features as children.

2. Khloe Kardashian Is OJ Simpson’s Daughter

Khloe Kardashian herself questioned whether or not her DNA was in fact, Kardashian. In an early season of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” Kardashian asked her mother, Kris Jenner, if she was adopted. In a later season Kris urges Khloe to take a DNA test to prove that her father is Robert Kardashian. Fans sparked this theory when they began comparing photos of Simpson’s daughter and Khloe Kardashian, stating that the two looked alike. People even believed that Simspon and Jenner had an affair, and that Robert Kardashian claimed Khloe as his daughter when Jenner got pregnant to hide the affair from the media.

3. The Moon Landing Was Faked

Many believe that the moon landing, which occurred in 1969, was faked. According to die-hard believers of this theory, in pictures and clips of the moon landing, studio lights can be seen reflecting off of the astronaut’s helmets, stars are absent from the sky and the shadows of the astronauts look like they are the product of studio lighting. 

4. Princess Diana Was Murdered

The Royal Family has always been in the public eye, and consequently, there have always been rumors about what really went on behind closed palace doors. Women today see Princess Diana as an icon, but back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Princess Diana was far more controversial. Many people speculate that Diana’s death wasn’t an accident, and that she was murdered by the British government or Prince Charles III. When she died, she and Prince Charles were constantly in the media due to their marital issues; and many speculate that at the time of her death, Diana was pregnant and had planned on getting married to Dodi Al Fayed, her boyfriend at the time. It is theorized that Charles and the Royal Family didn’t want their name to be associated with Diana and her non-white boyfriend and their baby, so they murdered her and staged it to look like an accident. This theory gained traction when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left The Royal Family, and Harry claims that his mother’s death wasn’t an accident.

5. Walt Disney’s Body Is Cryogenically Frozen

While this is among one of the more out-there conspiracy theories, a lot of people actually do believe that Walt Disney’s body is frozen somewhere in the underground tunnels of “Disneyland.” Some Disney fans even believe that Disney created the movie “Frozen” to cover up search results of this theory. Before the studio released “Frozen,” if someone typed the word into google, articles about this theory would appear, therefore, Disney produced this film to change the search results that surfaced when people typed “Disney frozen.”

6. Every A-List Celebrity Is in the Illuminati

Conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and celebrities have circulated the web for the past few decades. While no one really knows if the Illuminati exists, or what they do for that matter, everyone believes that it’s a cult of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities. It’s speculated that while the Illuminati is full of A-list celebrities, its main members are singers responsible for subliminal messaging. Believers of this theory claim that if these songs are listened to in reverse they contain secret messages about Satan; this is (of course) how they brainwash us. 

7. Avril Lavigne Was Replaced by A Clone

Avril Lavigne is (or was?) a famous punk rock singer of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Fans believe that Lavigne committed suicide in 2003, and was consequently replaced by look-alike Melissa Vandella by her record label. Believers of this conspiracy theory maintain that after 2003, her music began to change and the singer looked different. According to this article from The Guardian: ““Proof” has included Lavigne’s red carpet shots (Lavigne wears trousers; Melissa prefers dresses and skirts) and supposed differences between the facial features of pre-2003 Lavigne and the current incarnation.”

8. Britney Spears’ Meltdown Era Was Staged by the Government

Britney Spears had a public meltdown in 2007 in which she shaved her head. At the time, the media believed that Spears was going crazy, but looking back, a lot of people believe that Spears was hired by the Bush administration to distract us from shady government activity. Every time a new policy scandal emerged, Spears would do something crazy a few days later, like driving with her toddler on her lap, causing the media to focus and report on her rather than the Bush administration.

9. “The Simpsons” Can Predict the Future

“The Simpsons” is an animated comedy series that has been on air since 1989. One of the biggest conspiracy theories in pop culture is that the show can predict the future and that the creators / writers of the show are psychic. It is widely believed that the show predicted 9/11 in an episode where one of the characters holds a magazine that shows a picture of the twin towers and a $9 sign in front of it. According to the video clip, the episode aired three years before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. There are also claims that the show not only predicted 9/11, but also predicted former U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency sixteen years before he even ran.

10. Life is A Simulation

One of the biggest conspiracy theories is that we’re all living in a simulation, like in the movie “The Matrix,” and that nothing is real. Essentially, this theory states that we’re being controlled through a video game and we’re like “Sims” characters. You are the only person in the world, and everything and everyone else is made up. This theory is backed up by the fact that when we’re not with people –friends, family, etc.– we have no way of knowing that they actually exist. Furthermore, if we can’t see what’s behind us without turning our heads, how do we really know that there’s really anything there at all? Some people also believe that this theory is true because there are videos of people, mainly celebrities, glitching.

Though the world will probably never know if these conspiracy theories are true, it’s fun to entertain the possibility of the absurd, wacky, and yes, crazy. After all, what’s the harm?

Andrea Cepeda, University of North Texas

Writer Profile

Andrea Cepeda

University of North Texas
Creative Writing

First year college student majoring in creative writing. I love reading and writing, mainly fiction, but I am open to all genres.

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