On Wednesday morning the news that Lil Tay had passed away took the internet by storm.
Obviously at first it was a shock. At 9 years old the rapper gained instant fame for her precocious flexing and feuds. Then she disappeared off the internet for a few years. The viral sensation, real name Claire Eileen Qi Hope, apparently abandoned her rap career after her father, Christopher John Hope, got custody.
And now we get the first Instagram post on the account in five years, and it’s to say she died? And that her brother, Jason Tian, died as well? And there’s an investigation?? What is going on?? That’s what everyone wants to know…
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Unfortunately it gets more confusing the deeper you dig. For instance Tay’s former manager Henry Tsang released a statement calling the death notice into question. He said in a statement to multiple outlets:
“I have been in communication with individuals who have an intimate understanding of the family’s situation. Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family.”
He also said everyone should “rely on reputable and official sources for information” and “exercise patience while awaiting further developments.”
Um… what??
The thing is, no one else seems to be able to confirm the statement either. Multiple outlets contacted Lil Tay’s father to simply confirm the news of her passing. Chris Hope, a lawyer with Lindsay LLP in Vancouver, British Columbia, refused to confirm his daughter’s passing. He told The US Sun:
“I’m not going to comment on that right now…
And he told The NY Post:
“I’m not able to give you any comment right now… Sorry, I can’t really comment or give you any help — I’m just going to let you go.”
Odd, right? And all attempts to reach her mother have apparently failed completely. And according to Insider, both the LAPD and Vancouver Police Department said there is NO INVESTIGATION into anyone named Claire Hope.
WTF??
One source, who claimed to have also worked as a manager for Tay’s show business career, cast doubt on the IG death announcement, reasoning:
“One thing I would question is who posted that statement and why isn’t it signed by anyone from the family. Why is it not signed, ‘This is Tay’s mom’, or ‘This is the dad of Lil Tay’, or from an official representative? Why is there no attachment? To me, that is a very telltale sign. It doesn’t make sense. Even when you have passings, there’s a group of people that come together to make the statement, usually the family, and we don’t see that here. I send my condolences and I’m shocked by the news. But I’m curious as to who the statement has been released by and [why it hasn’t been signed by anyone.] I should be grieving right now […] but I just have so many questions.”
Yeah, we’re starting to have more and more questions, too…
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One thing we do know? The last we heard about Lil Tay was also pretty disturbing. A couple years back, in 2021, Claire’s brother Jason put up a GoFundMe looking to raise money because, he claimed, their father had taken all her money! He wrote:
“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. 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.”
WHOA!
What do YOU think is going on, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Lil Tay/YouTube.]
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