Lil Tay Alleges 'Abusive' Father Created Instagram Death Hoax

Social media sensation Lil Tay is now claiming that her father orchestrated her fake death hoax that took the Internet by storm earlier this year.

The controversial YouTuber known for flashing large stacks of cash took to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon to claim that her father was the one who pulled off the death hoax.

On Tuesday afternoon, Lil Tay allegedly took to her Instagram Stories to claim that her father was the person who posted a statement announcing that both she and her older brother, Jason, had passed away earlier this year.

"My abusive racist misogynistic woman beating father faked my death," she wrote with a photograph of her father, Christopher J. Hope.

Her older brother Jason had first alleged that Lil Tay was being abused by her father in 2021, several years after she stopped posting on social media amid a vicious custody battle between their parents.

Just last month, lawyers representing Lil Tay's mother, Angela Tian, told TMZ that Christopher had been ordered to pay $275,000 in back child support dating back to 2014. He was also ordered to pay monthly child support for the 14-year-old social media star going forward.

Angela, who was given physical custody of her daughter, has also been given sole decision-making power of her as well, according to the outlet. She has also been granted the ability to move Lil Tay out of Vancouver, where the family currently resides.

During the height of her brief career, Lil Tay had been living in Los Angeles; however, in 2018, Christopher obtained a court order that required her to leave Los Angeles and return to Vancouver. That court order also forced the rising Internet celebrity to stop producing new content.

Angela told the outlet that she and her children have been living “in a constant state of depression” due to the ongoing custody battle. She also slammed Christopher’s “disgusting financial motivation” to try to profit from their daughter's rise to fame.

“I have been financially ruined fighting for my daughter’s rights and freedom which should have never been taken away to begin with. We have won our case in court and my children and I can finally move on from this nightmare,” she said. “My daughter can pursue and achieve her dreams on her own terms, and we are finally a happy family again, together.”

Although Lil Tay is now claiming that her father created the death hoax, her ex-social media manager spoke to the Daily Mail shortly after the incident, stating that he believed either she or her brother had created the false statement to revitalize her career.

“Upon learning about Lil Tay’s assertion of her well-being, I find relief in the fact that she is safe. However, I believe the reported hacking incident may not have occurred,” he wrote to the outlet.

“My rationale for this perspective is twofold: firstly, the restoration of a compromised account on platforms like Meta/Instagram typically does not necessitate a 24-hour timeframe,” he added, although Meta later confirmed that her account really was hacked.

“Secondly, the actions of Lil Tay’s brother, renowned for his propensity for extreme measures, lead me to hypothesize an alternative motive behind this occurrence,” he continued.

“Simultaneously, if the underlying motive is indeed to rekindle Lil Tay’s prominence within the public sphere, I contend that such actions demonstrate a certain degree of irresponsibility,” Tsang added. “It’s essential to consider the potential repercussions of employing such tactics, particularly given their potential impact on the perceptions and sentiments of the broader audience.”

Many have questioned why her older brother Jason did not condemn the fake death statement after it was posted. To date, Jason has not broken his silence on the incident.

In April 2021, Jason launched a GoFundMe which has raised over $17,000 for the rising star. In the plea, he claimed that Lil Tay’s father and his wife physically and mentally abused his sister.

“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,” he wrote at the time.

“Chris Hope is fighting to permanently gain control of her career as well as custody over her,” he continued, claiming that “he has stolen millions of dollars from my sister and has taken control of all her funds.”

Tuesday's Instagram statement is the first time that Lil Tay has spoken to claims that her father has been abusive toward her.

Update: Over an hour after Lil Tay made the post on Instagram, Christopher Hope told TMZ that he did not create the Instagram death hoax. "The person who is responsible for that Instagram post, as well as anyone repeating the completely false and libelous accusation within it, are virtually certain to become defendants in a defamation lawsuit," he said.

"Everything stated is 100% false, and I trust that this should be obvious to anyone who knows me or the long history of absurd and untrue statements made by the various people who have controlled the Instagram account," he added.