The Conspiracy Theory That Says Lorde Is Actually In Her 40s

Let's face it, most conspiracy theories are bunk and the rest are impossible to prove. Some conspiracy theories, though — especially the relatively innocent ones in the domain of celebrity gossip — are pretty fun, if for no other reason than to wonder about the wacky stuff some people think about in their spare time — and who has that kind of spare time, we'd like to know!? With all that in mind what's really the harm, then, in exploring some theoretical, and highly unlikely, rabbit holes of this sort? 

One such example relates to twenty-something New Zealand singing sensation Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known as Lorde, per Britannica. (No, Lorde's real name is not the conspiracy, so just keep reading.) Lorde made her name in 2013 when she was only 16 with her debut album "Pure Heroine," according to AllMusic. And she was born in `96 — or so her official artist biography would have you believe. Here's how one popular (and totally false) conspiracy theory about Lorde's real age really got started, according to Esquire.

Although it's unclear exactly how all the kerfuffle about Lorde's real age got started — likely somewhere deep in the dark recesses of the internet, as is often the case — the idea quickly spread: Lorde was just too mature and successful for someone so young, plus she looks too old to be born in the mid-'90s, and her actual age was lied about to give her an unfair advantage over her teenage pop rivals. 

Turns out, Lorde's even in on the joke, telling Vanity Fair in 2014, "Hi, I'm Ella, and I'm actually 45." It's hard to know exactly how seriously some take the theory. New Republic contributing editor Alex Pareene — who really ought to know better — even tweeted "when will Lorde admit that she is in fact 97-year-old acting legend, Olivia de Havilland?" To get to the bottom of the mystery, one The Hairpin reporter ponied up for Lorde's real birth certificate, and here's what she found out.

According to Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor's official New Zealand birth certificate, the superstar singer was in fact born in 1996, just as she says. But even though there's a document proving Lorde's real age, some continue to doubt it, claiming the birth certificate we see has been messed with, according to Esquire. Despite the evidence from Lorde's actual birth certificate, some remain unconvinced that Lorde is truly the age that she says she is, with one reporter from Deadspin even running photos of the young singer through an app that can purportedly tell you how young or old the subject of the photograph really is. Her verdict being: this youthful imposter is guilty as charged. 

As far we're concerned though, an actual birth certificate is all the evidence we need, and we call the case settled: Lorde was not actually in her 40s when she hit the big time — or if nothing else, that's just what they want you to believe.