Rapper Lil Tay, 14, is flanked by security as she’s pictured for the first time since being targeted in death hoax
Rapper Lil Tay has been spotted for the first time since her Instagram account was hacked and posted the false message that she was dead.
Lil Tay, whose legal name is Tay Tian, was spotted wearing all black with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up as she headed through Los Angeles International Airport in California.
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She was surrounded by guards and wore sunglasses and a black surgical mask that covered most of her face.
In early August, the 14-year-old was the victim of a death hoax in which her Instagram account was hacked and a post was shared claiming that the rapper and her brother had died suddenly.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the sudden and tragic death of our beloved Claire,” the now-deleted post reads.
In the August 9 statement, Lil Tay was referred to as Claire.
“We are at a loss for words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This result was completely unexpected and shocked us all. The death of her brother adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief,” the post continued.
Lil Tay broke her silence a day after news of her and her brother Jason Tian’s alleged deaths broke, saying it was all a hoax.
“I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I am completely heartbroken and struggling to even find the right words,” she said TMZ.
“It was a very traumatic 24 hours. Yesterday I was bombarded all day with endless heartbreaking and tearful calls from loved ones as I tried to sort out this chaos.”
“My Instagram account was compromised by a third party and used to spread offensive misinformation and rumors about me, to the point that even my name was incorrect,” Lil Tay said at the time.
The rapper also clarified that her name is not Claire. “My legal name is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope,'” she said.
On Tuesday, Lil Tay claimed that her father, Christopher Hope, was the one behind the murder hoax.
“My abusive, racist, misogynistic, woman-beating father faked my death,” Lil Tay wrote in all caps on her Instagram Story alongside a photo of Hope.
However, Hope denied his daughter’s allegations TMZ.
“The person responsible for this Instagram post, as well as anyone who repeats the completely false and defamatory accusation in it, will almost certainly be charged in a defamation lawsuit,” he said.
Hope added: “All statements are 100 percent 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.”