Lil Tay

Tay Tian (born Claire Eileen Qi Hope; July 29, 2007 ), known professionally as Lil Tay, is an American-Canadian internet personality and musician. She first came to prominence in early 2018 at the age of ten (while claiming to be nine years old), when content depicting her boasting about being wealthy and calling herself "the youngest flexer of the century", as well as videos of her rapping, were published and viewed millions of times on YouTube and Instagram.

Tay's social media accounts became inactive after three months when her father applied to the superior court of Canada for full custody and control of her career as an influencer; full custody would eventually be granted to her mother. In 2023, Tay was the subject of widespread media coverage after a false statement announcing she had died was published from her Instagram account. Later that year, she released a single, "Sucker 4 Green". Her parents, who never married, shared custody of Tay.

On September 12, 2024, an announcement was posted to Tian's social media platforms stating she was in the ICU in "critical condition" and was diagnosed with a heart tumor. On September 14, Tian posted an update saying that she underwent an open-heart surgery, which she described as being successful. Shortly afterwards, she released a new single, titled "Growing Up".

After her death hoax in August 2023, it was revealed that Tay's legal name had been changed from Claire Hope to Tay Tian, using her mother's surname.

Coaching allegations and silence It was reported that Tay's older half-brother Jason was in control of her social media accounts.

As Tay's actions became more public, Tay's mother, Angela Tian, faced criticism online for allowing her young daughter to create rap videos with crude language. Amid controversy and speculation that her actions were forced by her mother, Tay defended her mother in an interview on Good Morning America, saying she was not forcing Tay to act this way and that she was content with her actions.

In a May 2018 interview with BuzzFeed News, Tay's mother stated that Jason directed the videos and managed social media accounts, with the article being released amidst a reportedly leaked video of the older half-brother coaching Tay on what to say in her video. Jason, who apparently directed Tay's videos, was described by Business Insider as "reportedly domineering" while an article in The Atlantic cited someone close to Tay stating "I've seen her brother shout at her. Once Jason was yelling at her, saying, 'You're no good, it's no good.' She was crying hard".

Reception and influence Tay gained the reputation of insulting her viewers while boasting about her wealth. Videos of her with Jake Paul at his residence and Tay feuding with internet celebrity and rapper Bhad Bhabie had more than four million views on YouTube. The post also indicated that her half-brother, Jason Tian, had also died, aged 21. and the Vancouver and Los Angeles police departments also stated that they had no reports of her death, and were not investigating it.

On August 10, Tay's family reportedly told TMZ that her Instagram account had been supposedly compromised and the post announcing her death was deleted from her Instagram page following this. Fact-checking website Snopes also issued an update to their reporting about Tay after originally reporting that Tay had died. TMZ also reported that Tay provided a statement confirming that her account was hacked and that she and her brother are alive.

MacLean Law, a firm that represented Tay's mother, released a statement that her mother would receive custody of Tay, that Tay's father had to pay retroactive child support, that Tay could "advance her career" and that Tay's mother would have the ability to sign contracts on Tay's behalf.

On September 30, a few weeks after the incident, she released her lead single "Sucker 4 Green" from her upcoming debut studio album.

On August 5, 2025, Tay released another single, "Stuck in July", just days after launching her OnlyFans account.

Discography Singles Title Year "Sucker 4 Green" 2023 "Growing Up" 2024 "Stuck in July" 2025

Promotional singles Title Year "Money Way"2018