Who is Lil Tay, the 14-year-old social media sensation whose death turned out to be a hoax?
Lil Tay has been making the rounds online following her hoax death at the age of 14.
The teen rapper’s family announced her “tragic and sudden passing” on Instagram on Wednesday, Aug. 9, but was deleted later on. “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 relatives said in a statement.
On Friday, TMZ reported that they have received a statement from Tay, saying that she is very much alive and that her Instagram was "compromised" and "used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors" about her.
Who was Lil Tay?
Tay rose to fame as a rapper and social media influencer when she was nine years old.
According to The Cut, she took various classes to hone her skills and talents at an early age—from dancing ballet, skating, and swimming to singing and playing the piano as well as speaking Chinese and making art.
Tay later stepped into the social media scene and became famous in March 2018 after some online skits that garnered mixed reactions from users. In her videos, she can be seen making it rain money, showing off her sports car, and boasting about her riches with profanity.
The Internet sensation, however, became inactive on social media later that year.
In May, The Verge reported that Tay’s mom Angela Tian got fired from her job as a real estate agent after her employer found out about her involvement in the Instagram star’s viral clips. One of the company’s directors confirmed the news to the media outlet, noting that they “[do] not condone this type of behavior and has no place for this” in their firm.
According to Page Six, the teenager was then ordered by the court to live with her dad, lawyer Christopher John Hope. He expressed his disagreement “with most of the social media activity” and “took legal steps to stop things” that seemed “dangerous” to her daughter’s physical and mental health in the future.
It was previously reported that Christopher did not allow Tay to use social media the entire time she was with him.
Tay’s Instagram page only resurfaced in April 2021, as stated in a Paper Magazine report, with a video of the social media sensation crying. In the now-deleted post, her brother Jason Tian accused Christopher and the latter’s current wife Hanee of physically and mentally abusing her. He also alleged that Christopher demanded “custody, money, and control over her career” and that he “has stolen everything from her.” The allegations against him are yet to be confirmed.
Her social media account was updated on Aug. 9 this year to announce that she, as well as her brother, have reportedly died.
Tay’s dad declined to comment about his child’s death when asked for a statement by the New York Post. “You have the right person, but I don’t have any comment right now. I’m not able to give you any comment right now. I’m sorry—I can’t,” he said via a phone call.