Who drugged Jade and dumped her body? Colton? People who worked for his family? Who would have killed Colton years later, aside from Harlow? Could it really just have been suicide? How does Faye’s death fit in? And Bill Lever’s?
Groaning in frustration, she turns on her heels toward the fridge and twists open a beer. She takes a giant swig, pacing back and forth as she thinks, her intuition telling her she’s missing something major. Something that would change everything.
She instinctively opens her TikTok and types “Harlow Hayes theories” into the search bar, hoping she’ll see something new from a vigilant fan and have a lightbulb moment. She skips through the videos claiming Harlow is a robot or devil-worshipper and pauses on a video titled “Harlow Hayes Is An Imposter,” making her briefly remember her encounter with the artist earlier today. He was so confident the real Paul McCartney died and was replaced by someone else.
The video from user @BorrillsWeerdWorld” opens with a disclaimer, saying that their videos are theories meant for entertainment value and not meant to harm any person or company. Naomi watches as the user comes on screen, their face shakily hovering over an image of Harlow. They start by recapping the title of the video, that they believe Harlow isn’t Harlow—not always, at least—and that Harlow either has a body double or “she isn’t Harlow Hayes at all.”
Naomi sighs, tempted to scroll. But she decides to keep listening, unable to ignore her curiosity, intrigued to know how this person came to such a wild conclusion.
The user launches into a brief bio of Harlow’s past, explaining how she got started and rose to fame quickly—so quickly, in their opinion, that she didn’t know how to handle it. They did some digging of their own and found out from multiple sources that Harlow wasn’t happy.
“She had a toxic on-and-off relationship with Colton Scott and was known for being depressed and unsatisfied with the fame.” A B-roll of Harlow crying and looking sad during performances plays in the background while the user explains. “In December 2021, Harlow canceled a few appearances and then came back better than ever in the new year. But also, with some noticeable differences. And no, I’m not talking about her style evolution forApotheosis, I’m talking earlier than that…”
A photo of Harlow appears on screen with the year “2022” at the top. In the image, which appears to be a paparazzi photo, Harlow is looking down, smirking as she walks. An unsettling feeling washes over Naomi, knowing that by this time Harlow could have made her first kill.
“As you can see, this photo is high-res and unedited, probably taken with a really great zoom lens. We can see the sweat on her face here, a bit of puffiness. But what we can also see, if we look closely…”
The user moves, so only their eyes and forehead are visible on screen, as well as their finger, which is circling Harlow’s nose.
“… is a prosthetic nose.”
Naomi rolls her eyes, annoyed at how desperate people are for views that they make up anything.
“Look closer,” the user says, as if they know what Naomi is thinking. The entire screen is now a close-up of Harlow’s nose. “See the lines?”
Naomi sits up straight when she notices. She doesn’t think it’s obvious enough to be positive, but the more she looks at the line slightly curling up beneath Harlow’s powder, the more she wonders if it is in fact some kind of prosthetic. But still, Harlow could’ve just been insecure. This was before she got most of her fillers and other procedures done.
“Like I mentioned in my Avril Lavigne video last week, I think it’s possible the label hired a body double to fill in for Harlow when she was struggling, and that at some point Harlow died and they took over completely.” The user raises a brow and then in an attempt to remain neutral offers a counter-argument. “On the other hand, the label can make just as much money on an artist’s death as they could a replacement, but just humor me for now, okay?”
The image on the screen changes and a side-by-side photo comparison appears, showing an old image of Harlow with a much more recent one from a red-carpet event. The old photo is a sweet shot of innocence, while the new one radiates a darkness Naomi can’t quite put her finger on.
The user talks as red circles appear over Harlow’s nose and arm, while arrows point to her skin, hair, and teeth. “So these two photos are about seven years apart. On the left we have Harlow circa 2017, after the release ofOne Heart, and on the right is Harlow this past summer in Paris. Before you get annoyed at me, yes, I know people’s faces change as they age, that hair color and skin tones can be changed with dye and fake tan, and that makeup can make a huge difference, but it certainly doesn’t explain all of… this.”
The unnerving feeling in Naomi’s stomach grows as she more closely studies the photos. She doesn’t want to rule out photo editing, age, or plastic surgery, but the video creator is right; the two Harlows in the photos don’t look like the same person. Similar? Yes. But one hundred percent? No.
“Now, let’s go from looking to listening…” The user plays a video of Harlow singing in early 2021, followed by one of her singing in 2024. In the first video, her pitch is high, while in the second, it’s much lower. The user explains how differences in sound systems can change an artist’s sound, but not by that much. Naomi agrees, although she acknowledges that the same artist can often sound completely different when singing in a different genre, so she finds this argument less convincing.
Next, they explain how in recent years, Harlow started signing her autographs in a new way, signaling a change in handwriting, before moving onto some other strange things.
“Here’s something really bizarre: One of the names in the credits of Harlow’s latest album is Addia S. Howler… whodoesn’texist. Could it be a top-secret pseudonym? Or maybe an anagram of Harlow’s imposter?”
Even though the photos have made her question herself, Naomi still feels like this whole thing is ridiculous, albeit entertaining. But @BorrillsWeerdWorld reels her in with their final point, when they mention how Harlow guest-starred on a podcast about the Beatles where she said her biggest influence for her latest album was Paul McCartney.
“‘Paul is dead’ theory, anyone?” they say. “Could Harlow’s body double have taken this as inspiration… and then taken things too far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!”
Naomi eyes the photo she purchased from the street artist earlier. A pit forms in her stomach, expanding with every racing thought.
Harlow
Three Weeks Before the Murder
“There’s my girl.” Sam stood as I approached the private booth at the back of his favorite restaurant in the West Village.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, giving him a hug. I cringed, knowing the phrase was becoming my new greeting.
“No worries, everything okay?”
I tensed at the question, feeling him studying me. “Yeah, all good. Did you like the recording I sent?” I asked eagerly, leg thumping against the table. “I was actually working on the song before I came here, it’s why I was running late.” It was a lie, but I wanted Sam to think I was focused on my music and nothing else. “Do you know if Charlie has listened yet?”
