Lil Tay is Alive, Appears to Be Victim of a Hoax
Lil Tay appears to be the victim of a bizarre hoax.
A day after a statement appeared on the internet personality's verified Instagram account announcing her death, as well as the alleged passing of her older brother, Jason Tian, Lil Tay's family shared a statement from the teen with TMZ, declaring the information as false.
The 14-year-old said, "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."
She added, "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. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope.'"
The former rapper also thanked Meta for giving her access to her account again, which had been inactive since 2018, and the statement about her passing has been removed.
Though the statement claimed to be from her family, many close to Lil Tay shared their doubts about her apparent death. In an interview with The Daily Beast, family friend John Cunningham said, "I don't know, man. I'm really f---ing confused."
When Cunningham saw the Instagram post, he immediately left a comment for the teen's mom, which read, "Angela if you see this call me please I'm on my way to the house."
The Vancouver police department also confirmed to The Daily Beast that there were no reports on her death, and there was no investigation, sharing, "As of now, we are not aware and are not investigating."
Similarly, People also reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, who had no death record to report.
However, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, Variety reported that they confirmed the death news with Tay's management.
Prior to its removal from Instagram, the death announcement alleged, "It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing. We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain."
"This outcome was entirely unexpected and has left us all in shock," the note claimed at the time. "Her brother’s passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief."
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