Lil Tay is not dead: 14-year-old rapper says her Instagram was hacked

Lil Tay says the death announcement posted on her Instagram was the work of hackers (Image credit: @liltay/Instagram)

Lil Tay is not dead. The 14-year-old social media star says a death announcement posted on her verified Instagram account was the work of hackers.

On Wednesday, a post on Lil Tay’s Instagram account announced that she and her brother, Jason Tian, had died unexpectedly. “We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected and has left us all in shock,” the statement read.

Doubts were first raised about the authenticity of the announcement after her father and her former manager both refused to confirm her death. Now, in a statement to TMZ, Lil Tay has said it was all a hoax.

“I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken and struggling to even find the right words to say,” the 14-year-old told TMZ via a statement.

“It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess.

“My 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,” she added.

The death announcement, now known to be fake, had referred to Lil Tay as “Claire Hope.” Several leading US and international publications covered the news of her death, referring to the rapper as Claire Hope.

The 14-year-old internet personality thanked Meta for helping her get her account back and said the fake announcement has been removed.

Lil Tay found social media fame in 2018 with controversial videos that showed her lavish lifestyle. She was seen in luxury cars, flaunting cash and using expletives. In one video, she was seen fanning a wad of cash, while another showed her pretending to use drugs.