Usher Is Not a Clone, So He Says

People of the internet are once again being their adoringly deranged selves in regard to celebrity cloning theories, and the latest victim is (the inimitable) Usher.

During a stop on his North American The R&B Tour featuring Chris Brown [hold for boos], Usher took the stage at MetLife Stadium on Friday night to do his signature dancing and Yeah-ing. However, after the show, the incredibly sane people on socials claimed that something was “off” about the singer. And the only logical explanations were that he was either replaced by an Usher clone OR that he had secretly hired an Usher impersonator to fill in for him at his job. (I don’t know which theory is more unhinged.)

In the video that first sparked the debate, Usher wears a hat and sunglasses, and holds the microphone close to his face while dancing, slightly obstructing his face. Yes, it’s hard to get a clear look at someone’s face when they are constantly moving (and spinning), but pause the video at pretty much any point when his face is in frame, and it’s obvious. That was the one and only Usher up there.

@thesultandiaries That was foulllll🤣😂😭 usher really sent out his doppelganger #chrisbrowntour #usherraymond #chrisandusherconcert #usher #therbtour2026 ♬ original sound – Sunnya

“Ya’ll are funny… clone?” Usher commented on one Instagram post, “They can’t clone this??” A post shared by his tour’s official Instagram account added, “Usure? Wesure.”

“How ya’ll come up with this?” Usher added in another comment, “AI ain’t that advanced.”

Agreed. Remember the dancing AI Michael Jackson robot?

@straitstimes 🤖 A robot took a tumble while dancing to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and was dragged off stage at a store event in Shenzhen, China. #robotfails ♬ original sound – The Straits Times

Usher isn’t a clone, okay? And while we’re at it, I’m going to go out on a limb and say with extreme confidence that neither is Selena Gomez, Jim Carrey, Avril Lavigne, or any other celebrity ever. We don’t even have humanoids that can do “Billie Jean,” so we are definitely lifetimes and universes away from living in a world with a celebrity clone, let alone one with the dancing abilities of an Usher. Plus, if anyone was to be “replaced” on this tour, I would hope it would be the convicted abuser. 

Still, the celebrity cloning speculation is my favorite flavor of baseless chronically online hysterics. I’d dismiss the theories completely if I weren’t so damn fascinated by the people who believe them. If you or a loved one actually believes in the celebrity clone shtick, I would like to interview you for an anthropological study. Serious inquiries only.