Fact Check: Is Lil Tay dead? Viral death hoax debunked

After a day of rumors and confusion surrounding the death of social media star Lil Tay, the 14-year-old confirmed she is alive. A post claiming that the teen had passed away was posted on Tay's official Instagram account on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. However, the post has since been deleted.

While the post didn't elaborate on the cause of the young rapper's death, it did say that it was "sudden and tragic." The post also added that her brother Jason Tian had passed away as well.

"During this time of immense sorrow we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are still under investigation," the now-deleted post noted.

The suspiciously worded statement was not signed which left netizens concerned for the siblings. When questioned, Tay's father, Christopher Hope declined to confirm the reports.

Lil Tay became an overnight internet sensation in 2018 for her flamboyant personality and controversial posts bragging about money, expensive watches, and cars. She was only nine at the time and many assumed her brother was in control of her account. However, by mid-2018 she stopped posting and disappeared from social media.

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Lil Tay's former manager, Harry Tsang, too declined to confirm or deny her death

It is also worth noting that after the Instagram post was shared and after her father refused to elaborate on her claims, her manager Harry Tsang also made a bizarre statement. He told the Daily Beast that given the "complexities of the current circumstances," he couldn't definitely confirm or dismiss the "legitimacy" of the statement that the family has issued.

What added to the confusion was another mysterious Instagram account under the username @termanii that claimed to be Jason. This account claimed that Jason and Tay were alive. It went on to say that their parents had taken control of Tay's account and were spreading misinformation.

These claims raised concern as in 2021 Lil Tay's official account shared posts claiming that her father was "physically and mentally abusive," It even added that he was stealing her money. At the time, the account went on to request donations, for the young rapper's legal defense for a business between Tsang and Hope on one side with Lil Tay, Jason, and their mother, Angela Tian, on the other.

At the time, many believed that Jason was posting on his sister's behalf. Their father denied this stating that the account was hacked and took out a cease and desist order.

The conflicting statements left netizens baffled and worried. However, on Thursday, TMZ put rest to all the claims and reported that Lil Tay was alive, citing a statement from her family.

Detailing the stress and confusion she faced, it read:

"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."

Lil Tay added that her official Instagram account was compromised by a third party that "spread jarring misinformation and rumors" and falsely claimed she died. Tay explained that the fraudulent account even got her name wrong, which the 14-year-old confirmed was Tay Tian and not Claire Hope.

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While Lil Tay confirmed she is alive and the fraudulent posts were taken down, no new posts have been shared on her official account.

No other statements were made at the time of writing this article.