Lil Tay is still alive, claims social media was hacked
By Ryan General
Social media personality Lil Tay has come forward to dispel rumors of her own death.
Fake death: News of her and her brother’s sudden passing made headlines yesterday after an announcement of her death posted on her Instagram account. In an official statement provided to TMZ the day after, Lil Tay claimed that her Instagram had been compromised by a third party, leading to the dissemination of false information.
“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 influencer said. “It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours.”
Custody battle: The news comes as Tay was caught in the middle of a custody battle between her parents, Angela Tian and Christopher Hope.
“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,” Lil Tay said. “My legal name is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope.'”
No police investigation: A spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department had earlier told the New York Post that they were not investigating the purported deaths as they hadn’t received “any reports of either death,” referencing both Tay and her brother, Jason Tian. At the height of the rumors’ spread, Christopher Hope also released a statement to Business Insider that he could neither confirm nor deny his daughter’s death.
Distressing day: Lil Tay, who gained notoriety in 2018 as the “World’s Youngest Flexer,” lamented that she was bombarded with distressing phone calls from concerned loved ones trying to check on her after the rumor made headlines. She then thanked Meta for fixing her social media access. While many social media users welcomed the development, some commenters expressed confusion as to why it took a full day for Lil Tay or her family to speak up about the matter.
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