As long as there are famous people, conspiracy theories will closely follow. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what they do or don’t do. Someone somewhere will come up with a theory for it. Remember Pizzagate and how Justin Bieber allegedly confirmed that he too was a victim of child sex trafficking by adjusting his beanie when he went live on Instagram in 2020? Or the “adrenochrome” saga where conspiracy theorists claimed that the Hollywood elite drained the blood of children who were “imprisoned” and “tortured” on farms. They further claimed that this was a ritual done to please Satan.
On this list are 10 more conspiracies in this same vein. Hold on to your tinfoil hat; things are about to get crazy.
Related: Top 10 American Conspiracy Theories That Are Completely Bonkers
10 Miley Speaks in Riddles
After Miley Cyrus’s highly publicized split from husband Liam Hemsworth, she almost immediately had a short-lived fling with Kaitlynn Carter before dumping her almost a month later for Cody Simpson. That relationship also ended abruptly, which is when her loved ones became truly worried. They claimed that Miley had started speaking in riddles and had become completely incoherent at times.
Her “shocking” on-stage antics furthered her family and friends’ concerns, and eventually, some of them spoke out anonymously, saying they believed that Miley had been possessed by the devil himself. They thought she had opened “a door” for possession by becoming involved with witchcraft and devil worship. According to these anonymous sources, this is also the very reason she split from her husband.
This conspiracy theory is still floating around on the far reaches of the internet if you’re interested in diving deeper down this particular rabbit hole.[1]
9 Christian Bale Is Not Human
Christian Bale has this uncanny ability to transform his body into just about any shape he wants to for specific roles. Between 2000 and 2004, he lost an incredible amount of weight for The Machinist by restricting his diet to water, one apple, and one coffee a day. He wanted to lose even more weight after dropping 30 kilograms (66 pounds), but producers stopped him as they were afraid for his health.
Then, in a mere six months, he bulked up again for Batman Begins with a high-protein diet and a harsh training routine that saw him gain 45 kilograms (99 pounds). Bale had to drop about 10 kilograms (20 pounds) then because he didn’t quite fit into the Batman suit. He lost a bunch of weight again for 2010’s The Fighter and gained a whole lot more for 2013’s American Hustle. He then played Dick Cheney in Vice and lost all the weight again a few months later for Ford v Ferrari.
Now, most people would call this extreme dedication to method acting. But if you were a conspiracy theorist, you’d accuse him of being non-human and some kind of shape-shifter instead.
Bale didn’t help matters much when he thanked Satan for “the inspiration on how to play this role” after winning the Best Actor Golden Globe for Vice. This unleashed a whole new conspiracy theory that said Bale sold his soul to the devil for fame and fortune.[2]
8 The Slap Heard Around the World
Some people are still convinced that the Oscar’s stage slap was well… staged for the Oscars to improve ratings and excitement about the show. However, the fact that Will Smith is being snubbed left and right and has been informed that he’s been banned from the Oscars ceremony for ten years suggests otherwise. This is regardless of the so-called “cheek pad” supposedly worn by Chris Rock or his grimace at what he knew was coming.
But whether the incident was staged or not pales in comparison to the theory that was dreamed up shortly after. It is being alleged that the entire slap was manufactured as a distraction from “atrocities committed by a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine.” And that’s not even all there is to it. Apparently, it was also a clever way to “indoctrinate” viewers into getting vaccinated. You know, because not only was the ceremony sponsored by Pfizer and BioNTech, but they also wanted to make sure as many eyes as possible were on the screen before they started doling out “vaccine propaganda.” Oh, and also, Pfizer evidently has an alopecia drug coming to the market.[3]
See where they’re going with this?
7 Freddie Still Roams the Earth
A band as famous and popular as Queen will never be able to escape conspiracy theories. This proved true for the band members, who had to fend off accusations of signing a pact with Satan in exchange for extreme fame and fortune. Naturally, this theory was lifted from the famous line in “Bohemian Rhapsody”: “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me.” It couldn’t possibly be that Freddie Mercury had an exceptional voice and that the band produced hit after hit, right?
Then there is the conspiracy theory that Freddie’s spirit cannot find rest, as he once said he didn’t want to go to heaven because he’d meet more interesting people in hell. Guitarist Brian May reportedly still hears Freddie’s voice, and Rami Malek, who portrayed the singer in 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, also claimed that he had been visited by Freddie’s ghost.[4]
6 Suicide or Murder?
When Chris Cornell committed suicide in 2017 at the age of 52, fans were shocked, to say the least. Yet some people still found it necessary to taint the tragic moment by spreading unbelievably ridiculous rumors about the Soundgarden frontman’s death.
His wife Vicky confirmed that he wasn’t suicidal before his death, which sadly only exacerbated the rumors and caused people to turn on her too. Some speculated that she was implicated in her husband’s death because she was good friends with Courtney Love, who had also been implicated in the death of Kurt Cobain.
Others, especially on Twitter, were genuinely concerned that Chris had been murdered because it was believed that he had been a financial backer of a child sex trafficking film called “The Silent Children.”
And then, perhaps most insane of all, it has been claimed that James Hetfield of Metallica was part of a conspiracy to murder Chris Cornell and make it look like a suicide. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is truly incoherent and has something to do with Hetfield wearing a shirt emblazoned with the number 33, which has something to do with the Illuminati. And also, Hetfield was apparently laughing for some unknown reason during an interview about Chris after his death.[5]
So, you know, solid proof right there. (Link 5)
5 Kayfabe Gone Too Far?
WWE doesn’t produce your traditional type of celebrity. Instead, it brings you men (and women) with inflated muscles and even bigger egos trying to outpunch each other and, if all else fails, out-insult each other. There are still some truly kayfabe storylines in WWE, each more ridiculous than the next, but people continue to eat it up. It is wrestling entertainment, after all.
As such, being in the entertainment industry has also put WWE in the way of conspiracy theorists who have produced a host of rumors surrounding the company. These include the big boss, Vince McMahon, owning ECW and fan-favorite Triple H, only marrying into the McMahon family to ensure he had more control in the WWE empire.
The “clone” conspiracy also made its way into the squared circle. Many fans believed that the Ultimate Warrior actually died back in 1992 and was replaced by a lookalike.
And then there’s the murder conspiracy. Sure, wrestlers threaten to kill each other all the time, but in a real-life tragedy, wrestler Jimmy Snuka became a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Argentino in 1983. Snuka was never officially charged, which led many to believe that Vince McMahon was instrumental in getting the wrestler off the hook by helping him cover up the crime somehow. Snuka died of cancer in 2017, a few days after being acquitted of the murder.[6]
4 Kylie Minogue Has Been Rickrolled
So, you may have heard that when you play the 7-inch record version of Kylie Minogue’s “I Should Be So Lucky” at 33rpm, it sounds like Rick Astley is singing a cover version of the song. And apparently, vice versa when Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is played at 45rpm. This ’80s rumor came about thanks to record players that could play vinyl at both speeds.
Astley acknowledged that it did indeed sound like him in the sped-up version but denied that he and Minogue were the same person as is apparently believed by conspiracy theorists. This conspiracy has been fueled by the fact that both singers were both associated with Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, an English songwriting and record production group.
In 2018, Astley and Minogue performed their hit songs at the Radio 2 Hyde Park Festival to finally dispel the lingering rumors that they are one person.[7]
3 What Husband?
Dolly Parton is one of the most popular people on the planet. She has received nearly 200 industry awards and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Her charitable contributions are also notable, having donated more than 100 million books to children.
Yet, the conspiracists have found something on her too. In this case, they are spreading a theory that her husband of more than five decades, Carl Dean, doesn’t actually exist. They have even gone so far as to say that Dolly’s husband is nothing more than an imaginary friend she conjured up to keep herself from being lonely.
Dolly laughed off the conspiracy during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2020, saying that her husband is rarely seen because he prefers staying out of the public eye. She also quoted him as saying, “I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.” [8]
2 The Wrong Kind of Limelight
If ever there was a controversial couple, Meghan and Harry are it. Some people love them to bits while others can’t stand the sight of them. Unfortunately, the latter have also come up with some over-the-top rumors about the former “working royals.”
The first one didn’t last long but claimed that Meghan’s first pregnancy was fake. That was obviously proven wrong when she gave birth to Archie in 2019.
The conspiracy theorists then came out in full force and accused Meghan of allowing herself to be used as a political pawn in England’s plan to regain control of America. This was apparently because the couple’s kids would be American citizens and would one day be able to run for president as well as be in line for the British monarchy.
Oh, and if that is all too strange, how about the theory that says the movie Love Actually predicted Meghan and Harry’s relationship? You know, Sam mourns the death of his mother and falls for an American girl…[9]
1 But Who Are You Really?
There’s been a host of conspiracies surrounding American president Joe Biden. These include his involvement in the so-called pending New World Order and the rumor that he’s actually dead or a bot. Another theory says that Joe Biden wore an earpiece during the first presidential debate and that someone fed him his lines throughout. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
In 2022, a video started making the rounds online that showed an individual sharing a theory that Biden is dead and that a handful of actors are standing in for him during appearances. She then listed some of the actors, which included James Woods and Jim Carrey. She also went on to say that when Joe Biden tripped going up the stairs to the plane, she believed that was Jim Carrey being silly.
Carrey only had two words for this video: “Oh dear.”[10]