A 14-year-old rapper and social media star who was reported to have died has said she is in fact safe and alive.
A statement on Lil Tay’s Instagram account on Wednesday, purportedly from her family, said she and her brother had both died.
But the TMZ website quoted her as saying her account had been “compromised” and used to spread “jarring misinformation” about her and her sibling.
Read more: Mystery surrounds ‘death’ of teen rapper
In a statement provided by her family to TMZ, 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.”
She added: “My Instagram account was compromised by a third 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”.”
She said she had now got back her Instagram account and the fake statement had been removed.
The statement, which appeared to be from the girl’s family, had spoken of her “tragic and sudden” passing.
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However, her father Christopher Hope later told news website Insider he could not confirm whether the social media star had actually died.
He told the publication he could not comment on the Instagram post and declined to answer when asked if his daughter was alive.
Harry Tsang, the youngster’s former manager, told Insider the situation called for “cautious consideration” and also could not confirm or deny the news.
The website said Los Angeles Police Department and the county medical examiner – as well as Vancouver Police Department – had no information on an investigation into the death of anyone by her name.
The youngster, whose account has 3.4 million followers, rose to fame online as she bragged about her wealth and posed in expensive cars.
She was only nine-years-old when she appeared in videos calling herself the “youngest flexer of the century” – a flexer is somebody who likes to show off.
Lil Tay – who lived with her family in Vancouver, Canada – would also swear and call her critics “broke-a** haters”.
