Social media personality and rapper Lil Tay is very much alive and claims her Instagram account was compromised, spreading ‘jarring misinformation’ about her death.
Tay Tian, known as social media personality and rapper Lil Tay, reports that she is, in fact, alive after a post on her Instagram account saying that she and her brother had died. In a statement curiously released about 24 hours after she was reported to have died, Tay and her family claim her Instagram account was compromised and used to spread “jarring misinformation.”
“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. 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,” says Tay.
“My Instagram account was compromised by a (third) party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong,” she explains. “My legal name is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope.'”
Lil Tay’s fake death was announced on her Instagram account Wednesday morning in a post that said her “sudden and tragic passing” is an “unbearable loss,” also stating that her older brother had died, which “adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief.”
Tay rose to fame in 2018 at age nine, when she went viral with videos proclaiming herself to be the “youngest flexer of the century,” showing off a lavish lifestyle on Instagram. That account and her YouTube profile, where she posted rap videos, attracted millions of views and followers until they were abruptly wiped clean of their content following a custody battle between her parents and allegations that she was coached to perform online.