Questions Surround Reported Death of Internet Star Lil Tay

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Is social media perpetuating a hoax or making a bad situation even worse? The current fiasco involves Lil Tay, an aspiring rapper and internet star from Canada whose real name is Claire Hope. Lil Tay is a fifteen-year-old girl who became famous when she was nine for Instagram videos in which she cursed a lot and sang about living a rich rapper lifestyle. Earlier today, a message appeared on her Instagram account saying that she and her brother Jason Tian had died and that a police investigation into their deaths was ongoing.

Grief, condolences, and media reports followed. But then, some odd developments cast doubt on whether the story is true. According to Insider, Lil Tay’s father, Christopher Hope, said he “could not comment on the Instagram post and declined to answer whether his daughter was still alive.” Then, her former manager, Harry Tsang, emailed Insider with this:

“Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family… This situation calls for cautious consideration and respect for the sensitivities involved. My commitment remains focused on delivering updates that are both reliable and appropriately timed.”

Finally, perhaps most suspiciously of all, the Los Angeles Police Department and the county medical examiner “had no information on an investigation into the death of anyone named Claire Hope.” The Vancouver Police Department, where Lil Tay grew up, had heard nothing either.

Further muddying the waters is Lil Tay’s familial situation. Her family was split on how to handle her burgeoning career, with her father and former manager opposing her mother and brother. There is a “bitter custody dispute” going on, so I assume the parents are divorced or separated. Supposedly, her father and manager wanted her to focus on her music, while her mother and brother wanted to maintain her punk persona. In 2018, a year after Lil Tay made a name for herself, a leaked video showed her having lines dictated to her from behind the camera – most seem to think this was her brother – and she suddenly stopped appearing online. There followed a series of Instagram posts accusing her father of abuse, which were subsequently taken down following a cease-and-desist letter to Instagram from her father. It’s believed her brother controls her Instagram account and made the posts, and those who doubt the authenticity of today’s post announcing Lil Tay and Jason Tian’s deaths cite this as a red flag.

So, what the hell is going on? Nobody knows – at least, nobody who will say for sure. Did this girl and her brother really die? Perhaps her mother was too distraught to call the police, but that seems unlikely after so much time has passed; even if she isn’t capable of calling on her own, surely someone close to her would have called by now. I can see resentment keeping anyone from personally calling her father, but the police probably would. And her brother’s control over her Instagram account and history of outrageous posts targeted at her father demand some scrutiny. Obviously, I hope these kids are alive and unharmed, but if they are, something sick is going on with these people.