Lil Tay — real name Tay Tian — is an American-born Canadian influencer and musician. At age ten (while claiming to be nine, for some reason) in 2018, she started appearing online, claiming to be “the youngest flexer of the century,” boasting about her wealth and rapping.
She now has more than 400,000 subscribers on YouTube, 5.3 million followers on Instagram, and 194,000 followers on X.
Her fame quickly made her the subject of a legal battle between her parents when her father applied to the Superior Court of Canada for complete custody and control of her media career. That custody and control would eventually go to her mother.
The topic of a child being so vocal about her wealth — especially when she does it in an often insulting way to her followers — is controversial enough. However, Lil Tay has been involved in far more controversy than that. So what happened?
What happened to Lil Tay?
In 2023, on Aug. 9, it was announced on her Instagram account that Lil Tay (whose apparent legal name was revealed as Claire Hope) had passed away.
The now-deleted statement said, “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. Her brother’s passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief. During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are still under investigation.”
It concluded with a final paragraph saying, “Claire will forever remain in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her.”
The announcement came after two years of inactivity, which made it all the more believable. Still, a lack of information about how or when Lil Tay and her brother had passed away cast doubt on the whole thing — as did Lil Tay’s former manager Henry Tsang’s lack of clarification on the subject when quizzed about it, despite his being in contact with her family. As it turned out, that doubt was entirely justified.
Little over 24 hours later, a statement to TMZ confirmed the announcement to be false. In the statement, Lil Tay said, “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive” and claimed her 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’.”
Lil Tay described being “heartbroken” about the whole thing and having to deal with phone calls from concerned loved ones, but the fact she released her first single, “Sucker 4 Green,” the following month raised suspicions it was a publicity stunt.
Suffice it to say, the now-16-year-old is now active again on YouTube, Instagram, and X, and still insulting her followers with cringeworthy content in which she refers to them as “broke” and “b****es.” Though, credit where it’s due, it seems she can actually play a little guitar.
