Recently, Lil Tay opened up about the fake death claims about her that crept up in August, as well as her music comeback, in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Real name Claire Hope, Tay alleges that her estranged father, Christopher, was the one who used the ‘death hoax’ in a desperate attempt to sabotage her career for the last time, as per a report by People. Tay and her mother, Angela Tian, claim that her former manager, who also happens to be an influencer, Harry Tsang, teamed up with Christopher to ignite the fake news. Hope explained to Rolling Stone, “Somebody has a strategy that a good way to get publicity is to make accusations against me. They’re all false.”
According to Tay, the death hoax was a way to boost exposure for a cryptocurrency coin that “exploited” her while denying Tsang ever formally represented her. While Christopher did not choose to comment on this claim, Tsang was of the opinion that the cryptocurrency strategy was a “part of a plan to bring [Tay] back” into the spotlight but denied any involvement in the death hoax. Instead, he points fingers at Lil Tay’s brother Jason Tian, saying, “He is known to do something crazy,” adding, “Ask anyone in the social media space.”
People reported a place blame game going on where Jason placed the blame back on Tsang, saying, “He went to every publication possible to allege I hacked Tay’s page to fake her death whilst also peddling the fraudulent Lil Tay crypto coin.”
People reported that elsewhere, Tay addressed how the death hoax troubled her, stating, “I really wanted to get things going,” adding, “And this was just something that came out of absolutely nowhere. And I had to clean up.” She also added that before the death hoax fiasco and after her mother was appointed as her sole legal guardian, Tay was contemplating making a musical comeback. The social media star stated, “I had some songs that I wanted to put out after winning my freedom. And thankfully, I did. So I was looking to get back on track as soon as I could. And then the death thing happens.”
People reports that in August, an Instagram post was added to Tay’s account with a statement that read, “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.” The statement also claimed that her brother, Jason, had also died and that the case was under investigation. People records that The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner also said they had no record of the alleged death.
A month after Lil Tay’s death was announced on her Instagram, she shared a music video for her new song “Sucker 4 Green.” making it obvious that she had not died.