Hollywood conspiracy theories

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The world is full of strange ideas, and there's no shortage when it comes to Hollywood, the British royal family and other famous folks around the world. We're taking a look back at some of the all-time wackiest conspiracy theories about celebrities, starting with this head-scratcher…

Is Robert Kardashian really Khloe Kardashian's biological father? For years now, conspiracy theorists have claimed that the reality star's real dad is O.J. Simpson, who died in April 2024.

The evidence? At one point, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Sydney Simpson, O.J.'s daughter with late ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. Khloe's mom, Kris Jenner, has been open about the fact that she had an affair while married to Robert, who died in 2023, though she's long maintained that she never strayed from the marriage with O.J. (The former football star and his late wife were close friends with the Kardashians — Robert even served as one of O.J.'s attorneys during his murder trial.) And yet the rumors persist.

It certainly doesn't help that Robert's second wife, Jan Ashley, told Star Magazine that Robert confessed to her before his death that Khloe was not his daughter. "Khloe is not his kid. He told me that after we got married," she said. Robert's third wife, Ellen Kardashian, also gave credit to the rumor, telling Star, "Robert did question the fact that Khloe was his."

Keep reading for more wild conspiracy theories about celebrities…

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No, Marilyn Manson did not star on "The Wonder Years." The shock rocker simply bears a striking resemblance to child actor Josh Saviano, who portrayed Kevin's dorky BFF Paul Pfeiffer on the beloved coming-of-age dramedy. Josh essentially retired from acting after "The Wonder Years" came to an end in 1993, prompting rumors he grew up to become the controversial performer (real name: Brian Warner).

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The rumor mill has long maintained that the Church of Scientology auditioned some of Hollywood's hottest young actresses for the role of a lifetime — Mrs. Tom Cruise — following the A-list actor's 2004 split from Penelope Cruz. The church reportedly considered Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan and the three-time Oscar nominee's eventual bride, Katie Holmes, for the coveted role. In September 2012, Vanity Fair published an exposé on the audition process, alleging that Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi was chosen to date Tom from November 2004 until January 2005. Reps for Tom and the Church of Scientology have vehemently denied the allegations.

MORE: Controversial celebrity marriages

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Did JonBenét Ramsey grow up to become Katy Perry? According to a particularly wild conspiracy theory, the child beauty queen did not, in fact, die in her family home in Colorado in 1996 when she was just 6. Instead, she was allegedly kidnapped. Her parents — who bear an uncanny resemblance to Katy's parents — covered up her disappearance, and she resurfaced as the pop star more than a decade later. While it's true Katy and her family resemble the Ramsey clan, there are a few major problems with this theory: Most importantly, JonBenét — who's four years younger than the "American Idol" judge — isn't missing. Her body was found back in 1996. Sadly, we may never know the truth about the circumstances that led to her tragic death.

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Is Taylor Swift secretly a crime novelist? That's what some people theorized! Before "Argylle" opened in theaters in February 2024, director Matthew Vaughn claimed that the action-comedy was based on writer Elly Conway's debut novel of the same name. At the time, little was known about the novelist, prompting rumors that "Elly Conway" was a pen name for none other than the chart-topping billionaire. (See the now-quiet Instagram account that purportedly belonged to the privacy-loving writer here.)

The "Argylle" movie — in which Bryce Dallas Howard stars opposite Sam Rockwell as a crime novelist named Elly Conway, adding yet another twist — is filled with Swiftie symbolism: Like Taylor, the movie version of Elly has a Scottish Fold cat that she wears in a backpack; like Taylor, Elly favors cardigans and turtlenecks; like the older version of Taylor in her "All Too Well" short film, Elly is a redheaded writer. And the list goes on!

There's also the question of how a first-time novelist managed to get a lauded filmmaker known for blockbusters like "X-Men: First Class" and the "Kingsman" franchise to adapt her work straight out of the gate. She'd have to be pretty well connected, right?!

More logical Swifties, however, questioned how Taylor would have the time to write a globe-spanning spy novel that's the first book in a planned series while simultaneously re-recording her early catalogue, dropping new music and mounting the most successful concert tour of all time.

Ultimately, the truth revealed itself: "Elly Conway" was nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Authors Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen collaborated on the "Argylle" novel.

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Bob Marley died in 1981 at 36 following a battle with melanoma. Some conspiracy theorists have speculated that the CIA (or some other shadowy organization) may have secretly given him the disease by putting poison in his boots, since the cancer started under one of his toenails. They've alleged that the CIA was concerned about the influence the Rastafari musician, who was vocal about his political beliefs, would build throughout the world. There was also an assassination attempt on Bob's life in 1976. Over the years, there have been allegations that the CIA ordered the hit. Is it possible they finished the job?!

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Lorde may seem wise beyond her years, but that doesn't mean the Kiwi chart-topper is lying about her age… right? Lorde shot into the spotlight after she dropped her hit single "Royals" in 2013. At the time, she was just 16 … allegedly! It seemed impossible to "Lorde Age Truthers." They insisted there was no way a teenager could create the Grammy-winning track and that her record label must've lied about her real age to drum up publicity while launching her debut album. There was so much hubbub about when exactly she was born (1996) that a media outlet ultimately published a copy of her birth certificate.

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In the summer of 2022, a fake story centered around Mel Gibson started circulating online: "Mel Gibson exposes Hollywood as the hub of Satanic child sacrifice," read the headline. The fake story went on to claim that the "Conspiracy Theory" star said Hollywood studios are "drenched in the blood of innocent children" and that the consumption of "baby blood is so popular in Hollywood that it basically operates as a currency of its own." The quotes seemed to confirm a right-wing extremist theory that the left-wing "Deep State" — which includes Hollywood celebrities among the "liberal elite" — has ties to Satanism. There's no evidence, however, that Mel ever actually made these comments — at least not publicly! There's also no evidence that Hollywood has ties to Satanism!

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In the mid-2000s, there were whispers that Britney Spears was a government operative. Yes, really. The pop star's 2007 mental health crisis coincided with several important dates in George W. Bush's presidency, prompting rumors that his administration paid her to distract the media from his blunders by publicly acting out. According to Vice, for example, Britney announced her split from Kevin Federline the day before an important midterm election that had the power to rock both the Bush administration and the Republican party as a whole. A few months later, Bush announced the reformation of Al-Qaeda … on the very same night that the troubled chart-topper infamously shaved her head and attacked a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella. Coincidence? Couldn't be!

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Sometime around 2013, a rumor kicked off alleging that Beyonce has been lying about her age for years — and that her little sister, Solange, is actually her daughter. Beyonce was born in 1981, and Solange arrived in 1986. But in 2008, Gabrielle Union — who was born in 1972 — said that she and Queen B were friends "as teenagers." But if the "Bring It On" star is really a decade older than the chart-topper, then they were never teenagers at the same time. According to BuzzFeed, an individual claiming to work for the Department of Health in Texas once alleged that he or she discovered Beyonce's real birth certificate, which shows she was born in 1974 — just two years after Gabrielle. She then purportedly got pregnant with Solange when she was just 13. According to the theory, Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, raised Solange as her own so that Beyonce could focus on launching Girl's Tyme — which eventually became Destiny's Child — in the early '90s. As for all the evidence (photos and videos) that Beyonce actually started launching her career much earlier than that? Hogwash, obviously!

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When Marisa Tomei beat out Vanessa Redgrave, Judy Davis, Miranda Richardson and Joan Plowright for the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1992 for her performance in "My Cousin Vinny," tongues wagged that perhaps the wrong name had been announced during the ceremony. The theory was that actor Jack Palance, who presented the award, read the name at the top of the list of nominees rather than the winner's. "That was very hurtful for me," Marisa later said. "I was a young actress and it was really exciting, but there was a cloud over it." Still, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refused to address the issue — despite Marisa's requests. "I asked the Academy to clear it up, but they just said it would be giving it more credence than if we ignored it," she said. (Exactly 25 years later, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty did, in fact, announce the wrong winner while presenting the award for best picture during the 2017 Oscars.)

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Prince Harry has also been the subject of rumors about his pedigree. Princess Diana had an affair with redhead James Hewitt during her marriage to Prince Charles, and the rumor mill has long suspected James could be Harry's real father. While it's true that Harry and James resemble each other, the prince's red hair isn't necessarily evidence of his true parentage. Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, has red hair too, after all! Plus there's the fact that James, who's denied it, didn't meet Diana and start an affair until 1986. Harry was born in 1984.

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Beyonce got tongues wagging in October 2011 when she made an appearance on the Australian talk show "Sunday Night" while she was (supposedly!) pregnant with her first child with hubby JAY-Z. When the superstar began to sit down, her baby bump appeared to fold in on itself. Some onlookers theorized that B was actually wearing a prosthetic pregnancy belly that shifted when she took her seat. And why exactly would she do such a thing?! To protect her super-fit figure, of course! Rumors swirled that Beyonce actually hired a surrogate to gestate daughter Blue Ivy Carter so that her body wouldn't undergo the strains of pregnancy — like gaining unwanted baby weight. Beyonce ultimately put the rumors to rest by flaunting her baby bump during several bikini-clad beach trips across the globe.

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Walt Disney became the punchline to countless popsicle jokes after word spread that he had himself (or possibly just his head) cryogenically frozen and buried beneath Disneyland to be reanimated in the future when the technology exists. The Hollywood heavyweight and technological innovator guarded his privacy so closely in life that it should come as no surprise he was equally private about his death: Very little is known about his funeral and burial arrangements. For all we know, Walt is still out there somewhere, planning the day he can open Disney Galaxy on the moon.

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Did you know there were actually two "birther" conspiracies during the 2008 presidential election? While one involved President Barack Obama's country of origin, the other centered around the parentage of then vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's baby boy, Trig. The most common theory states that Trig's birth mom is actually Sarah's daughter, then-teenage Bristol Palin, and that Sarah and then-husband Todd Palin adopted the baby either to avoid the embarrassment of running for office with a teen mom in the family or to generate sympathy for her cause. (Trig has Down syndrome, and Palin ran on a pro-life, family-values platform). But considering Bristol welcomed her own son, Tripp, just a month after the election, it's clear this theory doesn't add up.

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Are Keanu Reeves and Nicolas Cage vampires? Probably not, but some conspiracy theorists have pointed to the actors' striking resemblance to historical figures as proof that they lived in other times. Keanu, for example, is a dead ringer for both the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne and early 20th century French actor Paul Mounet. Nic, meanwhile, is the spitting image of a man photographed in Tennessee during the 1870s. Sometime around 2011, a photograph of the lookalike landed on eBay for $1M. "Nicolas Cage is a vampire," read the listing. "Personally, I believe it's him and that he is some sort of walking undead/vampire, etc., who quickens/reinvents himself once every 75 years or so. 150 years from now, he might be a politician, the leader of a cult or a talk show host." Too bad most of us won't be around to find out!

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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon officially arrived in 1998 when they won the Oscar for best original screenplay for "Good Will Hunting." But there's no way two hot actors in their 20s could've written such an emotionally rich drama, right?! The rumor mill churned away with allegations that the writing partners — who had appeared in only small film and television roles before writing and starring in "Good Will Hunting" — had actually stolen the script from another writer and passed it off as their own. William Goldman, who wrote "The Princess Bride," is often cited as the real scribe. But the two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter shot down the rumors at a WGA seminar in 2003: "I would love to say that I wrote it," he said. "Here is the truth: In my obit, it will say that I wrote it. People don't want to think those two cute guys wrote it."

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Avril Lavigne's debut album, "Let Go," arrived with a bang on June 4, 2002. But her time at the top of the charts was to be short-lived… According to a popular conspiracy theory, the "Sk8er Boi" singer secretly died in 2003. A body double named Melissa Vandella replaced her and went on to release 2004's "Under My Skin," which included subliminal messages pointing to the truth. The evidence? Changes to Avril's appearance, handwriting and sense of style. Sounds crazy, right?! Avril sure thinks so! "It's just a dumb Internet rumor, and [I'm] flabbergasted that people bought into it," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2019.

MORE: Avril and more "TRL" superstars: Where are they now?

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Some people believe that Stevie Wonder, who went blind when he was a child, can actually see. Over the years, the iconic musician has been caught on camera accomplishing several seemingly impossible tasks for a person with impaired vision — from catching a falling microphone stand and snapping a photo of Michael Jackson to going in for hugs and attending basketball games.

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Paranoid Beatles fans have concluded that Paul McCartney died in a motorcycle crash in the mid-'60s and was replaced by a look-alike. The rumor sparked a clue-hunting phenomenon, with obsessive fans pointing to symbols in the band's lyrics and album artwork as proof of the cover-up. In 1969, the Beatles' press office released a statement addressing the rumor that Paul had been replaced by "William Campbell," the winner of a Macca look-alike contest, calling the rumblings "a load of old rubbish." Read the statement, "The story has been circulating for about two years — we get letters from all sorts of nuts, but Paul is still very much with us."

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Katie Holmes sparked the imagination of conspiracy theorists everywhere when her baby bump appeared to dramatically fluctuate in size throughout her pregnancy with daughter Suri Cruise. So why would Katie and baby daddy Tom Cruise stage such an elaborate hoax? Some theorized that Suri's biological father is actually Katie's ex-fiancé, actor Chris Klein, and that Katie used a prosthetic belly to hide the fact that Suri was actually born much earlier and therefore could not have been Tom's biological daughter. We just have one question: Why would Tom ever willingly commit to this scheme?

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Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison both died young from heart attacks in the '70s. Yet they've allegedly been seen — alive and well! — time and time again over the years, prompting rumors they both faked their deaths. Some fans point to discrepancies in Elvis's death certificate as proof he faked his death so that after a lifetime of fame, he could finally live in obscurity and retire in peace. And because an autopsy was never performed on Jim's body, there are several lingering questions about how and where — or if! — he really died. Several witnesses have reported seeing an "aged hippie" hanging around Jim's grave at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, a popular tourist destination. Could it be Jim, checking on the flowers left by his tombstone?!

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According to a popular myth, the U.S. government hired Oscar-winning filmmaker Stanley Kubrick to fake the moon landing in 1969 — a year after his magnum opus, "2001: A Space Odyssey," opened in theaters. There's even a rumor that he fessed up to the "truth" before he died in 1999. Whoopi Goldberg is among the bold-faced names who've questioned the legitimacy of the moon landing. "Who shot the footage? Why is the flag rippling? There's no air," she questioned on "The View" in 2009 while celebrating the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission. Hey, she kinda has a point…