Lil Tay, teen rapper and web sensation, died on the age of 14.
Her household introduced the surprising information through Instagram on Aug. 9, 2023, however didn’t disclose any particulars about how she and her older brother, Jason, handed away.
Followers had been astonished to listen to concerning the teen’s loss of life, as she hadn’t posted something on social media since 2018 — across the time she was court-ordered to dwell together with her father, who she claimed was abusive and controlling.
Discover out extra concerning the social media star and the thriller surrounding her surprising loss of life.
Who was Lil Tay?
Earlier than Tay — born Claire Hope — turned a well known determine, she was only a younger woman who liked to bop.
She took ballet lessons from the younger age of 4 and took part in Royal Ballet Academy competitions, in response to the Minimize.
Tay additionally studied Chinese language, singing and piano and took skating, swimming and artwork classes.
How did Lil Tay develop into well-known?
Tay rose to fame on the age of 9 from doing skits on Instagram the place she would discuss trash and throw stacks of money whereas exhibiting off her luxurious life.
In one in all her Instagram movies from March 2018, the then-9-year-old despatched a message to her “broke ass haters” whereas holding a fan of 100 greenback payments and sitting in a pink sports activities automobile.
“This s–t price me $200,000,” she mentioned within the clip as she acquired into the unique automobile. “I’m solely 9 years outdated. I ain’t acquired no license however I nonetheless drive this sports activities automobile, bitch.
“Your favourite rapper ain’t even doing it like Lil Tay.”
In her remaining Instagram put up earlier than her loss of life announcement, Tay mourned the loss of life of rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot and killed in June 2018.
“X you really modified me ❤️,” she captioned the put up of a screenshot of her on FaceTime with the “Hope” emcee. “you had been there for me when everybody wished me to fail, you had been there to offer me recommendation, you had been there.”
Tay additionally referred to XXXTentacion as a “father determine” who would FaceTime and name her “for hours after I’m down.”
“I can’t imagine this, the evil on the earth, This isn’t good Bye I Love you Bro ❤️💔😔😢❤️,” she concluded.
Tay’s Instagram account has amassed greater than three million followers, whereas her YouTube account has garnered greater than 220,000 subscribers.
Who had been Lil Tay’s mother and father?
Tay was born to dad Christopher John Hope and mother Angela Tian.
When the younger woman began gaining notoriety, she was residing together with her mother, a Vancouver actual property agent. Nonetheless, Tay’s profanity-laden movies later price Tian her job after it was revealed that she was concerned in serving to her daughter create the viral skits.
“As of final week Angela is not hooked up with our agency,” Jim Lew, director of enterprise growth for Pacific Place Group, confirmed to the Verge in an e-mail in 2018.
“Our agency doesn’t condone one of these habits and has no place for this in our enterprise.”
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In June 2018, Tay was court-ordered to dwell together with her father, who labored as a lawyer, in Vancouver.
“When my daughter’s social media started to go viral this yr, I disagreed with many of the social media exercise. I took authorized steps to cease issues which I felt had been harmful to her bodily and psychological well being and to her future,” Christopher informed Hollywood Life in October 2018.
“I don’t suppose a 10-year-old woman must be put in these conditions and made to drop out of faculty in order that she will generate profits for different folks.”
Christopher, who was allegedly an absentee father, reportedly banned Tay from social media whereas she was residing with him, which is why there hadn’t been any exercise on her Instagram since 2018.
Nonetheless, the legal professional informed HollywoodLife on the time that his daughter can be returning to the highlight underneath a rebranded picture that he authorized.
Who was Lil Tay’s brother?
Tay had one sibling, an older half-brother named Jason Tian.
Earlier than his sister turned well-known, Jason reportedly tried to make it as a rapper underneath the stage identify Rycie, per the US Solar.
When his rap profession didn’t take off, he helped Tay develop her web persona — even writing what she was going to say in her movies.
In Could 2018, a video emerged on Twitter of Jason teaching his sister, telling her to be “extra ignorant” when talking in her movies.
After followers caught wind of the household’s scheme, Tay’s YouTube and Instagram accounts had been each scrubbed.
In 2021, Jason created a GoFundMe account as a way to increase $19,000 to allegedly “save Tay from a lifetime of abuse.”
On the location, he shared photographs of Tay’s bruised face, alleging that her dad, Christopher, and his spouse, Hanee Hope, had “bodily and mentally abused her.”
Jason claimed that Christopher was making an attempt to “completely acquire management” of Tay’s profession and acquire full custody of her.
“My sister Tay has been silent on social media for the previous 3 years as a result of her absentee father (Chris Hope) served my mom a courtroom order demanding management over Tay’s cash, profession, and custody, and because of this it was courtroom ordered that my sister needed to return to Vancouver, Canada,” he alleged.
Jason additionally claimed that Christopher had “requested a courtroom order to forestall” Tay from “talking out concerning the fact.”
Jason alleged that Tay’s dad had “stolen hundreds of thousands of {dollars}” from his sister and had “spent hundreds of thousands” on himself and his spouse on a “new mansion, velocity boat, good automobiles, journeys to spas, salons, fancy eating places, journeys to Egypt, Dubai, Mexico, Philippines, Hawaii, the UK, Paris, designer clothes and jewellery/watches.”
When did Lil Tay die?
On Aug. 9, 2023, Tay’s household introduced on her official Instagram account that she and her brother, Jason, had sadly handed away.
“Now we have no phrases to precise the insufferable loss and indescribably ache. This consequence was completely sudden, and has left us all in shock,” the assertion learn.
“Her trouble’s passing provides an much more unimaginable depth to our grief. Throughout this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privateness as we grieve this overwhelming loss, because the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are nonetheless underneath investigation.”
The assertion concluded, “Claire will without end stay in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that might be felt by all who knew and liked her.”
No different particulars concerning the singlings’ deaths had been launched at the moment.