What is the identity of Lil Tay, the 14-year-old social media celebrity who was the victim of a death hoax?

Lil Tay, an adolescent rapper and online celebrity, was supposed to have died when he was 14 years old.

Her family shared the devastating news on Instagram on August 9, 2023, but did not reveal how she and her elder brother, Jason, died.

Fans were shocked to learn of the teen’s death because she hadn’t posted anything on social media since 2018 — around the time she was ordered to live with her violent and controlling father.

One day later, it was found that Tay’s Instagram page had been hacked and that she and her brother were still alive.

Learn more about the social media celebrity and the strange circumstances that led others to assume she died.

Who exactly is Lil Tay?

Tay, born Tay Tian, was a little girl who loved to dance before becoming a well-known figure.

According to the Cut, she began taking ballet lessons at the age of four and competed in Royal Ballet Academy contests.

Tay also studied Chinese, singing, and piano, as well as skating, swimming, and painting.

How did Lil Tay become well-known?

Tay rose to celebrity at the age of nine through Instagram skits in which she spoke trash and threw stacks of cash while showing off her lavish lifestyle.

In one of her March 2018 Instagram videos, the then-9-year-old addressed her “broke ass haters” while riding in a red sports vehicle and brandishing a fan of $100 notes.

“This s-t cost me $200,000,” she says as she gets into the fancy automobile in the video. “I am just nine years old. Even though I don’t have a licence, I still drive this sports vehicle, bitch.

“Even your favourite rapper isn’t doing it like Lil Tay.”

Tay lamented the loss of rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot and died in June 2018, in her final Instagram post before the phoney death announcement was issued.

“X you truly changed me,” she captioned a photo of herself on FaceTime with the “Hope” rapper. “You were there for me when everyone else expected me to fail, you gave me advise, you were there.”

XXXTentacion was also alluded to by Tay as a “father figure” who would FaceTime and phone her “for hours when I’m down.”

This isn’t good, I can’t believe it, the wickedness in the world. “Bye, I love you Bro,” she said as she walked away..

Tay’s Instagram account has more than three million followers, while her YouTube channel has over 220,000 subscribers.

What are Lil Tay’s parents’ names?

Tay Hope was born to Christopher John Hope and Angela Tian.

When the little child rose to prominence, she was living with her mother, a Vancouver real estate salesperson. However, Tay’s profanity-laced films lost Tian her job once it was exposed that she assisted her daughter in creating the popular skits.

“As of last week, Angela is no longer attached with our firm,” Jim Lew, Pacific Place Group’s head of business development, told the Verge in an email in 2018.

“This type of behaviour is not tolerated by our firm and has no place in our operations.”

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Tay was ordered by a court in June 2018 to reside with her father, a lawyer, in Vancouver.

“When my daughter’s social media went viral earlier this year, I disagreed with the majority of the social media activity.” “I took legal action to stop things that I felt were harmful to her physical and mental health, as well as her future,” Christopher told Hollywood Life in October 2018.

I do not believe that a 10-year-old girl should be put in those conditions and forced to drop out of school in order to generate money for others.” 

Christopher, who was purportedly an absentee parent, allegedly blocked Tay from using social media while she was living with him, which is why her Instagram has been inactive since 2018.

However, at the time, the attorney informed HollywoodLife that his daughter would be returning to the public under a rebranding image that he authorised.

What is the name of Lil Tay’s brother?

Tay has one sibling, Jason Tian, an elder half-brother.

According to the US Sun, before his sister got popular, Jason tried his hand as a rapper under the stage name Rycie.

When his rap career failed, he assisted Tay in developing her internet identity, including composing what she would say in her videos.

In May 2018, a video showing Jason teaching his sister on Twitter surfaced, advising her to be “more ignorant” when speaking in her videos.

Tay’s YouTube and Instagram profiles were both deleted after admirers discovered the family’s scam.

Jason set up a GoFundMe site in 2021 in order to gather $19,000 to purportedly “save Tay from a life of abuse.”

He posted photographs of Tay’s injured face on the website, stating that her father, Christopher, and his wife, Hanee Hope, had “physically and mentally abused her.”

Christopher, according to Jason, was attempting to “permanently gain control” of Tay’s profession and win complete custody of her.

“For the past three years, my sister Tay has been silent on social media because her absentee father (Chris Hope) served my mother with a court order demanding control over Tay’s money, career, and custody, and as a result, it was court ordered that my sister return to Vancouver, Canada,” he explained.

In addition, Jason alleged that Christopher had “requested a court order to prevent” Tay from “speaking out about the truth.”

Tay’s father, according to Jason, “stolen millions of dollars” from his sister and “spent millions” on himself and his wife, including a “new mansion, speed boat, nice cars, trips to spas, salons, fancy restaurants, trips to Egypt, Dubai, Mexico, Philippines, Hawaii, the UK, Paris, designer clothing and jewelry/watches.”

Is Lil Tay dead?

Tay and her brother, Jason, died on August 9, 2023, according to a post on Tay’s official Instagram account.

“There are no words to describe our unbearable loss and indescribable pain.” “This result was completely unexpected and has left us all stunned,” the statement said.

Her brother’s death adds an unbelievable depth to our pain. We respectfully request privacy at this time of great grief, since the circumstances behind Claire and her brother’s deaths are still being investigated.”

“Claire will forever remain in our hearts,” the statement ended, “her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her.”

While fans were horrified by the story, they immediately became sceptical as the social media star’s former manager stated his doubts about the siblings’ deaths and their father refused to confirm or refute the report.

Her brother’s death adds an unbelievable depth to our pain. We respectfully request privacy at this time of great grief, since the circumstances behind Claire and her brother’s deaths are still being investigated.”

“Claire will forever remain in our hearts,” the statement ended, “her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her.”

While fans were horrified by the story, they immediately became sceptical as the social media star’s former manager stated his doubts about the siblings’ deaths and their father refused to confirm or refute the report.