Lil Tay not dead: Rapper claims she was ‘hacked’ in ‘jarring’ attack

Social media star Lil Tay was declared dead at 14 on Wednesday — but she’s reportedly still alive, according to a new statement allegedly from the social media star, obtained by TMZ on Thursday.

The influencer’s Instagram was reportedly hacked and used to spread rumors about her and her brother’s “death,” she explained in a statement on Thursday.

“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. 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,” reads a statement from Tay, provided by her family according to the outlet.

“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”,” the statement concludes.

The Post has reached out to Meta, Instagram’s parent company, for comment about the hacking allegations.

Lil Tay’s father, attorney Chris Hope, could not be reached Thursday for comment.

However, when reached at his Vancouver law office by The Post on Wednesday night, the person answering the phone identified himself as her dad — but would not corroborate his daughter’s passing.

“Yeah, you have the right person, but I don’t have any comment right now,” Hope said during the brief, 2-minute call Wednesday. “I’m not able to give you any comment right now. I’m sorry — I can’t.”

A now-deleted fake death announcement on Tay’s Instagram yesterday read: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing.” The post also said her brother died, adding “more unimaginable death to our grief.”

Lil Tay thanked Meta for helping get her account out of hackers’ hands, TMZ reported.

Yesterday, when contacted by The Post, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department said: “We haven’t gotten any reports of either death here,” referencing both Tay and her brother, who also allegedly died, according to the Instagram announcement. “As of now, we are not aware and are not investigating.”

In the wake of the death hoax, abuse allegations against Lil Tay’s family resurfaced. According to a GoFundMe page organized by Tay’s older brother Jason Tian in April 2021, Tay was “physically and mentally” abused by her “absentee” father. The page raised $17,127 of its $19,000 goal.

On the page are photos showing marks from the alleged abuse and several claims of physical and emotionally abusive behavior and neglect.

“Chris Hope had a dysfunctional home and would bring many types of Asian women home,” wrote Tian on the site. “They were strictly sexual partners, they got naked and slept in the same bed with Tay, they engaged in intercourse while Tay was right beside them,” he continued.

Tian said Hope had 50/50 custody of Tay when she was 5. He further claimed Tay was given moldy, maggot-infested lunches and was physically abused by both Hope and his wife Hanee Hope, who would reportedly hit her and lock her in a dark closet.

Hanee also allegedly intentionally slammed a door on Tay’s toe and broke it. After Tay’s mom asked Vancouver Police to investigate Hope and Hanee, the abuse got worse and Tay went to live with her mother and Tian in Los Angeles in 2013, the GoFundMe claims.

Lil Tay, who has over 3.3 million Instagram followers, has become famous for her photos holding stacks of cash and her comments about money. Though after 2018, the influencer’s account had fewer posts, making some suspect she was taking a step back from the job.

Her brother alleged that Chris Hope was the reason Tay was on social media less and that her father never spoke to Tay again until May 2018 when she became famous.

“My sister Tay has been silent on social media for the past 3 years because her absentee father (Chris Hope) served my mother a court order demanding control over Tay’s money, career, and custody, and as a result it was court ordered that my sister had to return to Vancouver, Canada,” read the GoFundMe.

Tian continued, “As a result, it was court ordered that my sister had to return to Vancouver, Canada ... Since then he has stolen millions of dollars from my sister and has taken control of all her funds.”