Update: Aug. 10, 1:14pm: TMZ has reported that, in an official statement from her family and from the influencer herself, reports of her death and that of her brother were, in fact, a hoax. The Instagram post claiming her death was the result of a cyberattack, and she even further clarified that Tay Tian is her true legal name, not Claire Hope, as the false post stated.
Update: Aug. 10, 10:24am: According to recent reports from Insider and Daily Mail, no member of Lil Tay’s family nor her manager Harry Tsang have agreed to comment on her alleged death, and Vancouver police have stated that they’ve received no reports of her death, nor do they have any active investigations involving anyone named Claire Hope. It’s entirely possible, then, that her death was a hoax.
Adolescent influencer Lil Tay — the social media sensation who first rose to fame in 2018 — has allegedly passed away, according to a statement shared by the influencer’s family on Instagram. The rapper, whose real name was said to be Claire Hope, was just 14.
Hope’s brother, Jason Tian, has also passed away, per the same statement made by the siblings’ family.
The cause of death is unknown at this time.
The influencer entered the eye of the public when she was just nine years old, amassing millions of followers for her spoof videos of rap culture, often bragging about her wealth and possessions and eventually labeling herself “the youngest flexer in the country.”
It wasn’t long after that Hope mysteriously vanished from social media, and abuse allegations against her father, Christopher Hope began to surface on account of alleged hacks to her Instagram account. The influencer denied the accusations at the time; however, in a 2019 interview with The Daily Beast, Hope alluded to a “bad situation” that she felt uncomfortable speaking about, later revealing that the situation involved her father.
Fans of the late internet star, among their many thoughts and prayers, have taken to blaming the circumstances surrounding Hope’s fame for her death, alleging exploitation and gross mishandling of her stardom from her parents and other adult figures in her life.
Prior to her passing, the most recent post on Hope’s Instagram account was made on June 19, 2018, where she shared a tribute to her late friend, rapper XXXTentacion.
This article will be updated upon further developments.