The saga of Lil Tay’s bizarre death hoax continues.
A post made to the 14-year-old social media star’s Instagram Story on Tuesday claims that her father, Christopher J. Hope, is the person behind her false death announcement last month.
“My abusive racist misogynistic woman beating father faked my death,” reads white text placed against a black background along with a professional headshot of Hope, who is a lawyer.
However, Hope told TMZ that the accusations in the story are false — and even defamatory.
“The person who is responsible for that Instagram post, as well as anyone repeating the completely false and libellous accusation within it, are virtually certain to become defendants in a defamation lawsuit,” he told the outlet, as reported by the New York Post.
“Everything stated is 100 per cent 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,” Hope added.
Later on Tuesday, another strange photo was posted to Lil Tay’s Instagram story.
This one captured someone with long black nails holding onto a US passport.
The Post has contacted reps for Hope, Lil Tay and Meta for comment.
Rumours have swirled for years that Hope was “physically and mentally” abused by her “absentee” father after the teen’s older brother, Jason Tian, organised a GoFundMe account in 2021 claiming donations would go toward Tay’s “legal fees to give her the fighting chance in court to save her from a life of abuse. Towards her future, and freedom.”
Last month, Hope added fuel to the fire when contacted by The Post to confirm that Tay and Jason were dead as the statement on her Instagram claimed they were.
“Yeah, you have the right person,” Hope said in a phone call, adding: “Sorry, I can’t really comment or give you any help.”
The false death statement was removed from Lil Tay’s Instagram feed on August 10 after the rapper told TMZ that she and her brother were indeed alive.
The influencer claims her Instagram was hacked and used to spread rumours about her and her brother’s “death,” she said.
“I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. It’s been a very traumatising 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess,” read a statement from Tay, provided by her family, according to the outlet.
“My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumours regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not Claire Hope,” the statement concludes.
Meta allegedly claimed to TMZ on August 13 that Lil Tay’s account really was hacked.
But on Tuesday, the original death statement returned to Lil Tay’s Instagram feed. The post, which Instagram flagged as “false information” is currently the only post on her feed.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing,” read the statement dedicated to the native Canadian, who relocated to Los Angeles, California, “in her rise to cyber superstardom.”
“We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock.”
“Her brother’s passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief,” says the online notice.
“During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother’s passing are still under investigation.
“Claire will forever remain in our hearts, her absence leaving an irreplaceable void that will be felt by all who knew and loved her,” the statement concluded.
This article originally appeared in New York Post and was reproduced with permission