Claire Hope, known as Lil Tay on social media, has passed away at 14. The video star turned rapper first attracted viral attention in 2018. Tay’s family released a statement regarding her passing, and claimed that her death was still under investigation. The rapper went offline shortly after her viral boom, after she was a victim of online harassment and bullying. The statement appeared on her official Instagram page as the first post in five years.
https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1689303380915789824?s=20
The rapper reached viral heights for her catchy bars and tagline as “the youngest flexer of the century.” Tay would frequently share humorous photos and videos holding up wads of cash. She rapidly amassed a multi-million following. Her posts on Vine and other social platforms garnered this vast audience.
The death of Tay and her brother comes just over two years after her brother, Jason Tian, started a GoFundMe page dedicated to saving Tay from alleged abuse at the hands of her father. Tay’s parents were divorced, and her social media silence came after she relocated to Canada to live with her father and his girlfriend. Tian shared images of his sister’s bruised face, and raised approximately $17,000.
At the time of the GoFundMe, fans of the rapper were suspicious that Tian was exploiting his sister for money, and that she was not actually being abused. Now that both have died, suspicion has shifted to the siblings’ father. Tay’s social media break began when she moved to Canada to live with her father, which has also contributed to suspicions that he controlled her social media presence.
Social Media Reactions
Fans of the late rapper are calling on Canadian authorities to investigate both of her parents. The rapper had accrued wealth during her brief yet significant online career, and some suspect that her parents could have been involved in her death in an attempt to gain access to her money.
Two years ago, Lil Tay 's brother posted on her Instagram. He wanted to raise money for a legal defense.
He claimed that Lil Tay's father was "physically and mentally" abusive pic.twitter.com/d9DyyWz7FU— Elegiac (@Argo_Panoptes__) August 9, 2023
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Given that Tay was 14 at the time of her death, some found it suspicious that she was never even spotted on social media with any friends before her shocking passing.
Right? Like she completely fell off the grid? Like ain’t nobody seen her? No friends?
— ☆ mykaila ☆ (@glambymykaila) August 9, 2023
Fellow digital creators of the late 2010s are mourning the loss of the young star across several social platforms.
View this post on Instagram
Several other young rappers that Lil Tay met prior to her social media break are also posting their condolences. Tay previously collaborated with them.
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An investigation into the deaths of Tay and her brother remain underway. It is unclear at this time whether foul play or self harm were involved in their respective deaths. Neither of the rapper’s parents have directly commented on her death outside of the statement posted to the late rapper’s Instagram account.
