After years away from the spotlight, Lil Tay is back to making major headlines. This time, though, instead of spreading out stacks of cash or kicking it with rising star rappers, she has had to come out of the shadows to disprove a claim made yesterday (August 9) that she and her brother had passed away.
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“I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say,” the 14-year-old said in a statement to TMZ. “It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess.”
[RELATED: Viral Rapper and Influencer Lil Tay Suddenly Dead at 14]
On Wednesday morning, Tay’s Instagram account which had been dormant for years made a post announcing her death. Calling her Claire Hope, the post “revealed” that Tay and her brother Jason Tian both lost their lives recently and that their deaths were “under investigation.” This turned out to be false, as Tay continued in her statement by saying her legal name is actually Tay Tian, and that her Instagram account had been hacked.
“My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong,” she added. “My legal name is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope.'”
Upon further investigation following the original statement made yesterday, Insider reached out to the police departments in Vancouver and Los Angeles, where Tay lived with her father and mother respectively. Neither PD could confirm that any case came in regarding Tay or anybody named Claire Hope.
Additionally, Insider reached out to Tay’s father Christopher Hope, and her former manager Harry Tsang, who both refused to confirm or deny the news.
“Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family,” Tsang said in a statement. “This situation calls for cautious consideration and respect for the sensitivities involved. My commitment remains focused on delivering updates that are both reliable and appropriately timed.”
It’s still unclear how this situation transpired, and nobody knows who is currently in possession of Tay’s account, although Wednesday’s post has since been deleted. During the height of her fame, Tay’s mother Angela Tian and brother Jason both aided her viral ascent and helped run her social media pages for her. This led to a custody battle between Angela and Tay’s father Christopher, leading to Tian being taken back to Vancouver to live with her father.
Christopher was then alleged of abusing Tay when she moved back in with him, as Jason launched a GoFundMe page to support Tay’s efforts to find safety. With all the family disarray, as well as the new debacle this week, this is a developing story.
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