In August 2023, assets reported that rapper Lil Tay had died. She later mentioned her account was once hacked and dropped a brand new unmarried. What's going on?
The Gist:
- Lil Tay is an American-born Canadian social media influencer and rapper who was born on July 29, 2007.
- She rose to repute in 2018 for her arguable videos, then went radio-silent for several years.
- Her identify popped again up with an August 2023 "death hoax," and she went on to liberate a song in October 2023.
In 2018, a then 9-year-old girl from Canada was an overnight social media sensation after posting controversial videos and images on Instagram.
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Tay Tian (previously reported as Claire Eileen Qi Hope) — aka Lil Tay — become Insta-famous for depicting a lavish way of life and posting alongside pricey cars and houses while yelling crude and from time to time even racial slurs on the digital camera.
Referring to herself as the youngest “flexer within the century,” Lil Tay had a massive Instagram fanbase.
However, reported custody battles and emblem rights apparently put a stop to her social media “career.” Her account became inactive on social media in 2018 sooner than in brief posting once more in 2021 with a regarding message.
Then, in August 2023, a publish appeared on her Instagram account saying that the younger star and her brother had both died.
What happened? Here's what we know concerning the scenario thus far.
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What happened to Lil Tay?
After months of uploading daily content material to her social media pages, Lil Tay all however disappeared in the summer of 2018. According to the Daily Beast, at the time, the rapper’s Instagram alleged that her father, Christopher Hope, forced her to return to Vancouver after submitting a court docket movement.
Lil Tay’s mother, Angela Tian, informed the opening that the pair had been separated since their daughter used to be just a 12 months old and alluded the two did not have a robust courting.
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“He used to be threatening to arrest — to have my mother arrested if we didn’t go back,” the pre-teen informed the Daily Beast. “I didn’t see him for multiple years. He by no means saw me for see you later, it’s obtrusive he simply got here again because he needs money.”
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At the time she used to be court-ordered to go back to Canada, a spokesperson for Chris, Harry Tsang, told the outlet that the daddy wasn't seeking to achieve any monetary benefit off of his daughter, however as a substitute hoped to achieve 3 things. “First, no more loopy movies of cursing from Tay. Second, 25 % of the gross earnings going to a trust fund devoted to Tay. The 3rd factor is, there has to be structure in her operation, in her public symbol,” he said.
Later, fans become involved for the younger big name after her Instagram account posted about "bad news" referring to Tay on April 21, 2021. Her Instagram tales featured an image of her crying together with a message about alleged abuse and robbery from dad Chris.
Fans speculated that her brother Jason Tian — who have been accused of training his little sister in her debatable videos — was once at the back of these posts.
Their father ceaselessly denied the claims against him.
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During the December 2018 interview with the Daily Beast, Lil Tay didn't cross into many details about her home lifestyles however did say she was in a “bad state of affairs” with “Chris Hope.”
The then-fifth grader defined that she was being homeschooled as a result of she used to be “too famous” for public school. “He knows that I’ll get mobbed,” she stated. “He wants me to cross to public school. I’m too famous for that.”
Many lovers then assumed that Lil Tay had returned to her roots of living as a “standard” pre-teen in Canada, clear of social media and cameras.
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On Aug. 9, 2023, a submit on Lil Tay's Instagram account announced that both Lil Tay and her brother had died. A reason for death was once now not given.
In a stunning post (that has since been taken down) after years of radio silence on her Instagram account, it used to be introduced that Lil Tay and her brother had passed on to the great beyond. The commentary started:
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire's tragic passing. We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock. Her brother's passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief."
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It went on: "During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly as for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother's passing are still under investigation. Claire will forever remain in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her."
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Lil Tay mentioned her Instagram was hacked, however others aren't so positive.
The day after the Instagram death announcement, TMZ reported that Lil Tay and her brother had been, in truth, alive. "My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me," she informed the newsletter. "To the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope.'"
Lil Tay reassured fanatics that she and her brother had been both "safe and alive." She also defined the tension that the placement put her via.
"I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours," she mentioned. "All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess."
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However, some comments from Lil Tay's former managers are unquestionably casting some speculation on the incident.
"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about," Diomi Cordero advised The Mirror US. He was once the manager who used to be working with Lil Tay in 2018 when her social media first went into radio silence. At the time, her posts had all been archived in a move that Diomi described to Buzzfeed News as the start of a "rebrand."
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Harry Tsang, who used to be also a supervisor for Lil Tay, additionally had some insight into the location. Originally, he had mentioned that he could not confirm nor deny the experiences that she had died after speaking with other folks close to her.
When the scoop broke that Lil Tay was once still alive, he was skeptical about the claim that she used to be hacked. Instead, he believes that her brother might be at the back of the transfer.
"I believe the reported hacking incident may not have occurred," he informed The Mirror. Harry thinks that there can have been an "alternative motive behind this occurrence."
"Simultaneously, if the underlying motive is indeed to rekindle Lil Tay's prominence within the public sphere, I contend that such actions demonstrate a certain degree of irresponsibility," he warned.
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That identical month, Lil Tay posted a a observation from her attorneys to Instagram pronouncing that her mother, Angela, had primary custody of her, and that her dad was once paying kid make stronger.
In October 2023, Lil Tay released a track video.
At the beginning of October 2023, Lil Tay released a video for a song known as "Sucker 4 Green." She posted a clip of the video to Instagram along the caption:
"5 YEARS LATER..#1 TRENDING ON YOUTUBE IN LESS THAN A DAY🤑$100,000,000 IN CARS 😂😂😂FULLY INDEPENDENT, WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY MES. UCK MY D--K UNTALENTED HATERS😜🖕LINK IN BIOOOO 😳😳WE BROKE THE INTERNET."
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During an Instagram Live consultation, she reiterated her abuse claims towards her dad, alleging that he only changed into interested in her existence after she discovered status.
"He is not the f---ing good guy here," she mentioned (in line with Entertainment Weekly). "He wanted control over my career and my money, and … me and my family had to go through even more years of abuse through the court system because of him. But in the end we won. I am free now. I thank God every day for it. I thank my mom for it."
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