It seems that Lil Tay, the Canadian web youngster rapper, shouldn’t be truly lifeless.
Someday after it was introduced on her official Instagram account that she and her brother, 21-year-old Jason Tian, had each died, the provocative performer and social media influencer who discovered web fame at age 9 together with her foul-mouthed antics and money flashing earlier than abruptly dropping off social media in 2018, has surfaced to say it was a hoax and that her account was hacked.
“I need to make it clear that my brother and I are secure and alive, however I’m utterly heartbroken and struggling to even discover the best phrases to say,” Tay advised TMZ on Thursday. “It’s been a really traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I used to be bombarded with infinite heartbreaking and tearful telephone calls from family members all whereas making an attempt to type out this mess.”
She mentioned her Instagram account “was compromised by a third get together” and it was “used to unfold jarring misinformation and rumors relating to me, to the purpose that even my identify was flawed. My authorized identify is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope.'” She thanked Meta, proprietor of Instagram, for serving to her get again into her account.
What occurred?
The excellent news comes amid a really unusual 24 hours. On Wednesday, the announcement that Tay and her brother, an aspiring rapper, had died appeared on her account, which has 3.3 million followers.
“It’s with a heavy coronary heart that we share the devastating information of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing,” the Instagram message mentioned. “This final result was completely surprising and has left us all in shock. Her brother’s passing provides an much more unimaginable depth to our grief. Throughout this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privateness as we grieve this overwhelming loss, because the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are nonetheless beneath investigation.”
The submit has since been deleted, however the information of the 2 deaths was confirmed by Tay’s administration to Selection. Nevertheless, doubts rapidly grew. Media shops weren’t in a position to verify the deaths in Vancouver or the Los Angeles space, the place she has resided. Tay’s ex-manager Harry Tsang advised shops that the scenario referred to as for “cautious consideration” and mentioned he “can’t definitively verify or dismiss the legitimacy of the assertion issued by the household.” Tay’s personal father, Christopher Hope, was reached at his legislation workplace by the New York Submit and mentioned he was “not in a position to provide you with any remark proper now. I am sorry — I can not.” Requested whether or not another person might verify the information, he mentioned, “Um, no, not that that I am conscious of.”
A historical past of household drama
Tay grew to become well-known for brow-raising social media posts, which painted her, then 9, as dwelling a lavish rapper life in Hollywood. She’d curse, flash wads of money, pose by fancy automobiles she was solution to younger to drive and describes herself because the “the youngest flexer of the century,” who escaped poverty by “shifting bricks,” which implies promoting medicine, in line with City Dictionary. She drew backlash for utilizing the N-word.
In 2018, Tay was the main focus of a three-episode docuseries, Life With Lil Tay, about her street to stardom. Then, the identical yr, she abruptly stopped posting on social media. Her dad and mom, additionally together with mother Angela Tian, started a custody battle and combat over the kid’s fortune. The exes have been reportedly at odds about Tay’s profession path. Alongside the best way, the kid’s Instagram account was used to harass her dad through the custody dispute. Then most of her outdated posts have been deleted. At one level the phrases “assist me” have been posted to a narrative. It is unclear precisely who has been managing the account.
In 2019, Tay — together with her mother by her facet — spoke to the Every day Beast concerning the “dangerous scenario” she was in. She claimed her father filed courtroom papers saying she was “in peril and stuff” and “threatening to … have my mother arrested.” She mentioned she hadn’t seen him “for a number of years,” and “it is apparent he simply got here again as a result of he desires cash.”
Since Tay’s announcement that her demise wasn’t a hoax, there is no such thing as a new replace on the platform additional making an attempt to make clear these statements.
