Lil Tay Alive, Blames Instagram Hack for Confusing Death Story

CT Jones and Ej Dickson
·8 min read
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Lil tay - Credit: Lil Tay/Instagram
Lil tay - Credit: Lil Tay/Instagram

Despite news of her death circulating online less than 24 hours ago, viral Instagram rapper Lil Tay is alive, according to an interview with TMZ. The self-proclaimed “youngest flexer of the century” claimed that her Instagram account was compromised and used to spread “jarring misinformation:” that she and her brother, 21-year-old Jason Tian, had died under mysterious circumstances.

“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,” Lil Tay told TMZ. “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.” (Meta did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.)

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The rumors began from a post on Lil Tay’s verified Instagram account on Wednesday. Published by an anonymous author, the statement claimed Lil Tay and her brother had died, and referred to their deaths as “sudden” and an “unbearable loss.”

“This outcome was entirely unexpected and has left us all in shock,” the Instagram statement read. “During this time of immense sorrow we ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss… the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are still under investigation. Claire will remain forever in our hearts,” the post read. (In her statement to TMZ, Tay said her legal name is Tay Tian, not Claire Hope, as stated in the Instagram post.)

In the hours following the post, however, questions began to swirl. In an interview with Insider, Lil Tay’s father, Christopher, Hope declined to confirm whether or not she and her brother had died. And while other influencers, like another viral rapper WoahVicky began to post tributes to the young star, others close to her camp began to cast doubt on the news. (When asked for a comment about the news of Lil Tay’s death being fake, Vicky responded, “I’m happy she’s alive 😍.”)

A source formerly close to Lil Tay, who asked to remain anonymous, believed there were reasons to be suspicious of the news. “The statement, it’s odd, the way it’s written. There is no ‘this is from the family, this is from the management,’” the source, who has not had contact with Lil Tay or her family for some time, tells Rolling Stone. “My emotions are confused, because I don’t know what to think.”

The mystery deepened when it was reported that neither the Vancouver Police Department nor the Los Angeles Police Department had any record of Lil Tay’s death. “We do not have any record of that. We do not even have any indication that anything has occurred with her,” a representative for the LAPD told Rolling Stone when asked if anyone had performed a wellness check on the star, or had a record of her death. The Vancouver Police Department similarly told Rolling Stone, “There are no updates. We do not have reports of her death here.”

Moreover, Rolling Stone has learned that the Instagram post announcing her death coincides with the launch of a crypto project in her name, which appears to be led by her manager, Harry Tsang. Tsang refused to confirm whether or not she had died in an interview with the Daily Beast. In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Tsang said he was glad she was safe and alive but said he believed the hack never took place and could be instead a ploy to get money.

“The actions of Liltay’s brother, renowned for his propensity for extreme measures, lead me to hypothesize an alternative motive behind this occurrence,” Tsang said. “It is conceivable that the intention behind these events could be rooted in an endeavor to illicitly extract funds from devoted supporters and unwitting bystanders.”

For a time, his personal website, theharryvoice.com, redirected users to the token site, and metadata in a white paper posted to the token site listed Tsang as the author. Tsang is also cited as the CEO of Lil Tay Token in a recent tweet posted on a Twitter account linked to the cryptocurrency. “Good Morning Legends! Our CEO Harry Tsang has been active with the mainstream media, there are certain things we’re unable to address at the moment. ‘This situation calls for cautious consideration and respect for the sensitivities involved,’” the tweet read.

An Instagram account for the cryptocurrency, Lil Tay Token, was created in May 2023, as was a corresponding website, according to the website Domain Tools. “Lil Tay out here ballin! Are you living in the degen world and being broke as hell?” a description for the website reads. “[Join] us and become one of the youngest flexors of the century as well.” The website was abruptly taken down this afternoon after TMZ reported that Lil Tay was still alive.

Further, in a Telegram account for Lil Tay Token linked to the cryptocurrency’s Twitter, a moderator for the group appears to deny rumors of Lil Tay’s death.

“Lil tay died?” the member asked at 4:24 a.m. EST this morning.

“No fam,” the moderator responded.

A co-founder of the cryptocurrency, who goes by the name “Steven A. Savage” on Telegram, replied, “There are a lot of details ‘fans’ are just speculating on….if Harry wants to go into details with people. I’ll let him do it.” (Savage directed Rolling Stone to Tsang in response to a request for comment, and did not respond to follow-up questions as to why no one from the project would come forward to confirm or deny reports of Lil Tay’s death.)

Though the description for the cryptocurrency on social media says it has not yet launched, a writeup on the Bit Times says it was deployed on August 10, the day after the death announcement was posted on Instagram. An entry on the website PinkSale says its sale has been canceled for the time being, referencing the Instagram post and its impact on the value of the token.

“$LILTAY is a hybrid of a MEME and UTILITIES token based on the late influencer Liltay. The Youngest Flexer of the Century meme,” the description reads. “We’re ready to get things started.”

After news that Lil Tay was alive was published on TMZ, the account for Lil Tay Token changed its tune. “Sharing this to let everybody know that we will not be launching anything soon. We’ve been in development for 4-5 months now. If anybody is reaching out to you for money saying they’re involved with $liltay it’s not true,” the account tweeted this afternoon. The account also posted that the reason why it did not clarify whether Lil Tay was deceased was because “we had no direct connection with the information released on Instagram.”

People in the replies were skeptical. “So you pull a publicity stunt like you did and now expect people to still follow you? Get a life,” one person said.

While it’s been several years since the influencer was a household name, Lil Tay’s rise was based on her pulling various age-inappropriate stunts that centered around her cash flow. She pretended to smoke weed, posed with mounds of money, and drove luxury cars while dripping in designer apparel — all while yelling expletives at the camera. “I’m richer than all y’all broke ass haters,” “My toilet costs more than your rent,” and “B*tch, I just bought a Lamborghini,” are just a few examples. She also received intense criticism for her use of the n-word,

But while Lil Tay’s brash persona rapidly got her more than 3 million followers on Instagram and mobbed in public, little is known about her real life. According to articles in both The Cut and Buzzfeed, much of her internet presence was seemingly cultivated by her brother, Jason. Such allegations intensified when a video surfaced of the then-16-year-old Tian appearing to coach Lil Tay to use profane language in her content. “Jason ran the show, even as a kid,” the source formerly close to Lil Tay tells Rolling Stone, adding that Tian has “a history of allegations and making things up and being willing to do whatever to get attention.”

In 2018, Lil Tay’s account was scrubbed clean, save for a post on her Instagram stories that simply said “help.” The account later resurfaced to make several allegations of abuse against her father, who the posts claimed was trying to take Lil Tay away from her mother. In a 2018 interview with The Daily Beast, Tsang said the allegations were false. Christopher, a Vancouver-based lawyer, has repeatedly denied the allegations and had reportedly court-ordered Tay to live with him in Canada over concerns about her Los Angeles-based mother and brother exploiting her, which Tay and her mother both denied.

Since then, Lil Tay has largely vanished from the internet. Prior to the family statement announcing Hope and her brother’s death, the account’s last Instagram post was a 2018 tribute to the late rapper XXXTenacion. The sudden reappearance on social media, combined with the relatively recent announcement of the crypto launch, raised eyebrows.

“There’s a thing called going too far,” the source formerly close to Lil Tay says.

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