Lil Tay, who rose to internet fame in 2018, was believed to have tragically passed away following an anonymous source — believed to be her family — announcing her passing in a statement posted to Instagram.
The teen rapper, whose real name is Tay Tian, was said to have suddenly passed away at the age of just 14 years old along with her brother, Jason.
The statement was shared to her 3.4 million Instagram followers that her death was sudden and that both her and her brother’s deaths were under investigation.
We now know that this statement was false and that Lil Tay and her brother are alive and well.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing,” the statement posted on Lil Tay’s Instagram read.
“We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock.”
The statement went on to claim that her brother also passed away, with the message reading: “Her bother’s passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief.”
“During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are still under investigation.”
The statement concluded: “Claire will forever remain in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her.”
As per Page Six, Lil Tay’s alleged ex-manager has called the validity of the death announcement into question after the anonymous statement appeared on social media.
Lil Tay rose to fame in 2018 when she was only nine years old with a series of viral videos that showed her in sports cars with stacks of cash and in scripted fight videos.
As quickly as she rose to stardom, she disappeared with her final post to Instagram published in June of 2018.
It is alleged that Lil Tay disappeared from social media amid contract and custody battles.
That same year, Lil Tay revealed to The Daily Beast that she and her mother received a “court order” to move from Los Angeles back to Vancouver to be with her father.
“He was threatening to arrest — to have my mum arrested if we didn’t go back,” she told the publication.
“I didn’t see him for multiple years. He never saw me for so long, it’s obvious he just came back because he wants money.”
A spokesperson for her father, Christopher Hope, denied these allegations back in 2018.
“There are only three things he wants to see,” the representative, a man named Charles Wong, said at the time.
“First, no more crazy videos of cursing from Tay. Second, 25 per cent of the gross earnings going to a trust fund dedicated to Tay. The third thing is, there has to be structure in her operation, in her public image.”
After nearly three years of complete inactivity on all of Lil Tay’s social media, her Instagram account, which was allegedly hacked, posted allegations of abuse against her father and his second wife.
Tay’s father also denied these allegations to Hollywood Life shortly after the claims had been made.
“I am heartbroken about what has happened, not only to her, but also to my other family members, due to past events and now, due to the lies and harassment that were posted on Instagram,” he said.
“I don’t know if the Instagram was hacked or not; all I know is that the person or people controlling the Instagram did things that are crimes in Canada and in California, and we will see what happens with that.”
On Friday, Lil Tay released a statement confirming that she and her brother are not dead. She claimed that her Instagram was hacked and the hacker spread misinformation.
