Social media star Lil Tay, real name Claire Hope, broke her silence following a hoax surrounding her death.
Hope, who became famous on social media at nine years old for being the “youngest flexer,” returned to the public eye during an Instagram live during which she detailed the alleged abuse she endured at the hands of her father and stepmother. She also referred to the false reporting of her death, slamming the media for running with the story without verification.
“This proves how much the press did not give a f—k about facts,” Hope said. “ They cared about slandering my name. They did not do any fact-checking.”
Regarding the alleged abuse she faced from her father and stepmother, Chris and Hanee Hope respectively, she accused them of both physical and mental abuse. She alleges that her father wanted cover over her career and money. She notes that she suffered through more abuse through the court system.
“He started a court case to silence me, so I couldn’t speak on what was happening. And, so that he could take control of my money,” Hope said.
She notes that her father wasn’t in her life until five years ago when she became famous on social media. Hope also explains that her stepmother was a career scammer from the Philippines when her father met her online.
Hope also accused her father of being behind the death hoax, an alleged attempt to sabotage her. She alleges that her father was working with a con artist on a cryptocurrency, and they were planning to use her death hoax to promote it.
On her Instagram, a photo of young Hope with a burn scar on her face was posted. Another post features various photos of Chris and Hanee with luxurious gifts and on various trips. A couple of videos in another post shows Chris in front of a home, checking the mail, as someone from behind the camera confronts him. In the other video, Hope’s brother, Jason, is heard confronting Chris at night.
“You’re gonna come in and abuse my mom and my sister now,” Jason asked. “What about the millions of the dollars you stole? Real mature, Chris. You’re gonna act like you’re the righteous one?”
Last week, Chris responded to the allegations via a statement to TMZ:
“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 Instagram,” he said.
Many social media users are skeptical of the timing of everything, especially since she released her new single, “SUCKER 4 GREEN.” Social media users speculate that from her death hoax to her accusations are part of a public relations ploy to launch her music career.