Lil Tay and Brother Alive and Well After Social Media Hoax Claims Their Deaths

Viral child star Lil Tay and her brother are alive and well, despite a false post claiming their deaths that trended on social media earlier this week. The post, which was attributed to Lil Tay’s family, was quickly debunked by the rapper’s statement provided to TMZ.

Lil Tay, whose legal name is Tay Tian, rose to fame in the peak influencer period, when she was just 9 years old. She gained traction for waving fistfuls of cash around luxury cars and publishing profanity-laced rap videos that included racial slurs. She was a viral sensation, but then all but vanished from social media for about five years, with her most recent Instagram post being in 2018.

This week, a post claiming that Lil Tay and her brother had died was published on Instagram and quickly trended on social media. The post referred to the deaths as still being under investigation and referred to Lil Tay as “Claire Hope,” which is not her legal name.

In response to the post, Lil Tay’s family provided a statement to TMZ saying, “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive.” They also clarified that Lil Tay’s legal name is Tay Tian, not “Claire Hope,” and that her Instagram account had been compromised by a third party.

As of Thursday, TMZ was reporting that the post was a hoax. Lil Tay and her brother are alive and well, and the confusion between the two days has been resolved.