Teen rapper Lil Tay has confirmed she is alive a day after a post to her verified Instagram account claimed she was dead.
In a statement to TMZ on Thursday, the 14-year-old Canadian influencer, whose real name is Claire Eileen Qi Hope, said her account was compromised and used to spread "jarring misinformation" about her death.
The statement alleging her death, which has since been deleted, was posted to her Instagram account Wednesday.
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire's sudden and tragic passing," the statement read, according to USA Today. "We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock."
Lil Tay's father, Christopher Hope, declined to comment on the controversy surrounding his daughter's supposed death. In a statement to Insider, Hope said he could not confirm or deny the Instagram post that claimed his daughter had died.
Fraser MacLean, a representative for Lil Tay's mother Angela Tian, also declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the death announcement.
"Given the sensitive nature of the situation, we have no comment at this time," MacLean told People in a statement published Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lil Tay's former manager, Harry Tsang, questioned the rapper's statement that her Instagram account had been hacked.
"I believe the reported hacking incident may not have occurred," said Tsang, who stated that he had not had contact with Lil Tay's family in two years. "The restoration of a compromised account on platforms like Meta/Instagram typically does not necessitate a 24-hour time frame."
Tsang added that an "alternative motive" for the death announcement could have been to generate publicity.
"It is conceivable that the intention behind these events could be rooted in an endeavor to illicitly extract funds from devoted supporters and unwitting bystanders," he alleged.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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