Lil Tay is a teenage girl who had a short burst of fame in 2018 after posting videos on Instagram. The girl, who was only 9 years old, personified a rapper displaying his wealth, wad of American dollars in hand. We saw her presenting a luxury apartment in California or getting into a sports car, swearing and imitating hip-hop tone and gestures. Lil Tay, who is said to have grown up in Vancouver and Los Angeles, had at the time associated with popular rappers, including Chief Keef and XXXTentacion. She had also participated in a documentary series called Life with Lil Tay. According to US media, her real name is Claire Hope and she is the daughter of Angela Tian, a Vancouver real estate agent, and Christopher Hope, a Vancouver lawyer. More than 3.5 million people follow his Instagram account.
The soap opera kicked off Wednesday morning when a post that appeared to be written by his loved ones appeared on Lil Tay’s official Instagram account. He announced the “sudden and tragic” death of the teenager, but also that of her older brother. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the devastating news of the sudden and tragic passing of our beloved Claire,” read a deleted post on Thursday. Variety magazine wrote that they had confirmation of the death from the influencer’s “management”. The news went around the world. Interviewed by Insider magazine, Harry Tsang, who presents himself as Lil Tay’s former agent, had however called for “caution”, recalling the “complexity of the situation”. The girl’s father said he could not comment on the situation.
Thursday morning, the American tabloid TMZ published an article claiming that Lil Tay was still alive and that his Instagram account had been hacked. Here’s the statement the family allegedly shared with TMZ and is attributed to Lil Tay: “I want to clarify that my brother and I are safe and sound, but I’m completely heartbroken and struggling to find the right ones. words. These 24 hours have been very traumatic. All day yesterday I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones while trying to sort out this mess. If that statement is true, it’s unclear why it took the family 24 hours to make this all important clarification. Lil Tay also reportedly clarified that his legal name is Tay Tian and not Claire Hope.
Lil Tay disappeared from social media just months after her appearance in 2018. According to US media, she was at the center of a complex legal battle between her parents, who did not share the same vision for her future. In June 2018, Lil Tay allegedly wrote “help me” in a now-deleted Instagram post. According to Insider magazine, her Instagram page – then followed by 2.5 million people – was then used in a smear campaign directed against her father. In 2021, her older brother Jason launched a GoFundMe campaign to help their mother regain full custody of her children.
