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On Wednesday, August 9, a post was uploaded on Lil Tay's Instagram account, most likely by her family, announcing her sudden alleged death. The post also reported how her brother also passed away alongside her.
Reportedly, Lil Tay (real name Claire Hope) was 14 years old at the time of her demise. But it is still unknown how or where she passed away, and it is also unclear whether the alleged deaths of the siblings were connected. The post also stated that the cause of their demise was currently under investigation.
While Lil Tay’s last known address was her father Christopher Hope’s residence in Vancouver, she also reportedly had a home of her own in Beverly Hills, LA. As per The Daily Beast, both the Vancouver police and the Los Angeles police have denied knowing about any such double deaths.
While the news of her alleged death sent shockwaves over the internet with fans and fellow influencers sending in their tributes, a mystery has shrouded the incident as both Lil Tay’s father, as well as her former manager, refused to confirm her passing, as of Wednesday, August 9.
Since then, speculations have been on the rise surrounding her death, with netizens claiming it might be a hoax. One user on Twitter with the handle @Sethical_ even conducted their own research on Lil Tay’s alleged death and claimed in a lengthy thread that she was alive and it was all a publicity stunt. They even accused Lil Tay’s fellow Instagram influencer and model, Woah Vicky, of being in on it. They posted:
Lil Tay’s death news may have been fabricated
On Wednesday, August 9, Lil Tay’s former manager, Harry Tsang, told The Daily Beast that he could not confirm nor deny the teen celebrity and her brother’s deaths. His statement read:
“I have been in communication with individuals who have an intimate understanding of the family’s situation. 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 further added how he took the help of his personal psychic Eliza, who also suggested that “the initial news might not be entirely accurate.” As per the news outlet that directly spoke to the psychic Eliza, she clarified:
“When I look at the messages, I don’t sense any soul crossing the line to another dimension. I pick up something not very real about the statement.”
The psychic further explained how according to her, out of the two people mentioned in the alleged death post, one was on the brink of “crossing the line” but the other one was not even close. This hints that she believes either Tay or her brother might be alive.
Likewise, Lil Tay’s social media manager, Duane Laventure, told The Daily Beast how he was under strict instruction from Tay's mother not to speak anything about her alleged death. Victor K. Sapphire, who happens to be Tay’s legal contact, also refused to comment on the news.
Echoing a similar tone, Lil Tay’s father, Christopher Hope, told both the Insider and the New York Post that he did not wish to comment on the recent Instagram post from Tay’s account and also declined to answer whether his daughter was alive.
A Twitter thread that tried to debunk Lil Tay's death news
Coming to @Sethical_’s Twitter thread that investigated the death news of Lil Tay, the netizen first revealed how the whole thing was no more than a “bad hoax.”
Then they scrutinized the Instagram post sharing the teen celebrity’s death news where they brought attention to the line “This outcome was entirely unexpected” which, as per the user, indicated an accident or murder or suicide. However, as already mentioned, no police reports confirming Lil Tay’s alleged death have been traced as of August 9.
Next, @Sethical_ posted a TikTok interaction between fellow influencers RiceGum and Woah Vicky, both of whom mentioned Lil Tay, weeks prior to her alleged death. In the clipping, when RiceGum asked Woah Vicky whether the latter has been in contact with Lil Tay, she said that she heard from her sometime back and that Tay was asking about RiceGum and showed interest to get in touch with him.
To this, RiceGum showed excitement and told he was going to “hit her up.” As per @Sethical_, both their facial expressions were unconvincing while talking about Tay, hinting as if they knew what was coming.
The netizen also brought to light how an Instagram user named @ishangoel claimed that they knew Jason, Tay's brother, who allegedly informed them a few days back that Tay was winning the legal battle against her father and was on the verge of regaining her social media status and money. Here, @Sethical_ seemed to indicate that Lil Tay already had access to her Instagram and it was she who posted the hoax.
Speculations that Lil Tay may have been killed by her father have also been surrounding social media. However, according to @Sethical_, since there was no active police department and Tay was in a legal fight with her father, it was unlikely he was anywhere near her.
The netizen also pointed out how the Insider article mentions that both Tay’s father and ex-manager refused to confirm her alleged death, which also aroused suspicion. Moreover, they dug out an Instagram account with the handle @termanii that claimed to be Jason, Lil Tay’s brother, and posted that neither of them was dead. The post also revealed how they were planning to go live soon with additional information.
Later, however, @Sethical_ anticipated that the @termanii Instagram handle could be fake. It was apparently a musician using Tay's name for "clout."
@Sethical_ wrapped up their Twitter thread by drawing attention to Harry Tsang’s Twitter account that showed how he was involved in a cryptic project called “LilTayToken” launched on May 30 but posted no news of her alleged death, amid the ongoing rumors. The Twitter user also mentioned how they’ll update if they hear of new developments.
For those unaware, Lil Tay shot to fame in early 2018 at the age of 9 with her Instagram skits, flexes, curses, solo rap number Money Way, and luxurious lifestyle but then disappeared in late 2018. While originally hailing from Vancouver, Canada, she also had a home of her own making in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
Reports from CBS reveal that her brother Jason and mother Angela Tian both helped her garner fame and money via social media and were supportive of her career. While originally, she stayed with her brother and mother, in October 2018, she was court-ordered to live with her father, who allegedly banned her social media presence.
Several sources such as the Hollywood Reporter cite that her father accused her brother and mother of exploiting her innocence and trying to make money using her, while they have accused the father of physical and mental abuse. In fact, during one of her last media presences, Tay too told the media that she did not feel safe under her changed circumstances.
At the time of her alleged death, Tay had over 3.4 million followers on Instagram and more than 220,000 subscribers on YouTube. Her last known social media interaction was her tribute to her “father figure” rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot and killed in June 2018.
