ENTERTAINMENT | November 14th, 2019 7:15 PM

What do Paul McCartney, Avril Lavigne, and Taylor Swift have in common besides being caucasian pop sensations? They’ve all died and been replaced by doppelgängers tasked with continuing their lucrative musical careers. But there’s another celebrity imposter scenario in the headlines this week, and it involves a star who may very well be able to bench press the entire melodic trio. Dwayne Johnson, everyone’s favorite professional-wrestler-turned-actor, had the news of his death circle the social media stratosphere yesterday, and it was predictably labeled a hoax. However, as far as imposter cover-ups go, this one’s becoming easier and easier to see through. That’s because this is not the first time Johnson has been replaced by a double; in fact, it’s the third time in less than ten years.

The original Dwayne Johnson passed away in 2011; however, fresh off of Fast Five and deeply entrenched in the planning of several Fast & Furious sequels, it was in the world’s best interest to replace him. Just one movie later, in 2014, his replacement died and had to be replaced himself in order to facilitate the completion of Furious 7. Then just yesterday his second replacement’s luck ran out, necessitating a third replacement, because the people just cannot go on without the upcoming San Andreas 2.

And now, the shadowy powers in charge of this doppelgänger deception are becoming more worried with each Dwayne Johnson iteration. Not because everyone is starting to catch on to the ruse--clearly people care more about never ending sequels than individual human lives--but because the world is now running out of Dwayne Johnson lookalikes. Perhaps someone should suggest Johnson sit it out the next time he volunteers to do his own stunts.