Shock over a statement announcing the sudden death of Lil Tay, a 15-year-old internet personality and rapper who rose to viral fame as a foul-mouthed, braggadocious nine-year-old on Instagram, gave way to confusion after the girl’s father and former manager refused to confirm or deny her death, and TMZ has now reported that she is still alive.
An unsigned statement posted on to Lil Tay’s Instagram account on Wednesday said the star’s death at 15 was “sudden and tragic” and “entirely unexpected”. It also said that her older brother Jason Tian, who at one point had been in control of her account before it went dormant in 2018, had also died, and that both deaths were under investigation.
