Inside Lil Tay star Claire Hope’s rise to fame from ‘youngest flexer’ vids to abrupt disappearance from social media
LIL Tay, a teenage rapper who became famous for her viral videos at age 9 before disappearing from social media, has died.
Claire Hope was believed to be around 14-years-old at the time.
Her brother Jason Tian has also died, the family announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Their causes of death have not been disclosed and the situation is still under investigation, the family said.
Hope, who called herself “the youngest flexer of the century,” rose to fame for her crass, boastful social media videos.
“This is a message to all y’all broke-ass haters, y’all ain’t doing it like Lil Tay,” Hope said in one clip where she can be seen hopping into a red Mercedes-Benz with a wad of cash.
“I’m only 9 years old. I don’t got no license, but I still drive this sports car.
“Your favorite rapper ain’t even doing it like Lil Tay.”
She gained prominence through collaborations and splashy public disputes with figures like Bhad Bhabie, Jake Paul, and Woah Vicky The Atlantic reported.
The videos were made with the help of her brother, who was just 16 when Hope rose to fame.
Jason would generally tell the girl what to say and acted as her manager.
Although Hope claimed to be a millionaire who owned luxury cars, this image was largely manufactured.
She and Jason made many videos in expensive homes they briefly had access to through their mother Angie Tian, who was a real estate agent.
As her popularity rose, Hope and her family moved from their home near Vancouver, Canada, to Los Angeles.
But being a child star in the social media age was not easy for Hope.
She disappeared from social media nearly four years ago as the public realized that Jason was behind the viral clips.
This was also around the time that a video of a young girl smoking a hookah pipe began circulating online, The Cut reported.
Angie’s former boss told Good Morning America some of the Lil Tay videos were filmed in his car and on his properties without permission.
In an interview with the outlet, Angie and Hope explained that the girl chose to be featured in the videos.
“No one’s forcing me to do this,” Hope said.
“She has a passion,” Angie said.
Angie and the social media star’s father Christopher Hope were battling over custody in 2020, TMZ reported.
Although they agreed that she should be an entertainer, Hope’s father wanted her to take a less controversial into the limelight, Insider reported.
Hope’s last Instagram post was a memorial for the rapper XXXTentacion, who was murdered in Florida in 2018.
Fans left their thoughts on the teen’s death below the post.
“This is absolutely heartbreaking,” one commenter said.