Lil Tay Claims Estranged Family Member Wanted to ‘Sabotage’ Her with Death Hoax: Report

Lil Tay opened up about the viral death hoax to ‘Rolling Stone’

Lil Tay claims that her estranged father Christopher Hope wanted to “sabotage” her with a recent death hoax. However, Hope denies the accusation.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the “Sucker 4 Green” musician opened up about the recent fake death announcement that went viral in August as well as her music comeback.

Lil Tay, whose real name is Claire Hope, alleged that Christopher used the death hoax “as a last resort to sabotage me.”

Along with her father, Lil Tay and her mother Angela Tian also claimed Harry Tsang, an influencer who has been referred to as Lil Tay’s former manager, teamed up with Christopher to spread news of the death hoax. Lil Tay alleged that it was a way to boost exposure for a cryptocurrency coin that “exploited” her, while denying Tsang ever formally represented her.

“Somebody has a strategy that a good way to get publicity is to make accusations against me. They’re all false,” Hope told Rolling Stone.

Christopher has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Tsang said the cryptocurrency strategy was a “part of a plan to bring [Tay] back” into the spotlight, but denies any involvement in the death hoax. Instead, he points fingers at Lil Tay’s brother Jason Tian.

“He is known to do something crazy,” Tsang said of Jason. “Ask anyone in the social media space.”

Jason, however, shifted blame back to Tsang.

“He went to every publication possible to allege I hacked Tay’s page to fake her death whilst also peddling the fraudulent Lil Tay crypto coin,” he said in a statement.

Tsang told PEOPLE that he was initially informed about the death hoax by a friend before releasing a TikTok video questioning “the legitimacy of the news.” He also said he believes Lil Tay “is also complicit” in the death hoax.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Lil Tay addressed how the death hoax inconvenienced her.

“I really wanted to get things going,” she told the publication, referring to her music career. “And this was just something that came out of absolutely nowhere. And I had to clean up.”

She added that prior to the death hoax — after her mother was appointed her sole guardian — she had been planning her musical comeback.

“I had some songs that I wanted to put out after winning my freedom. And thankfully, I did. So I was looking to get back on track as soon as I could. And then the death thing happens,” the social media star said.

In August, an Instagram post was shared to Lil Tay’s account, announcing “the devastating news of our beloved Claire’s sudden and tragic passing. We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain. This outcome was entirely unexpected, and has left us all in shock,” the post continued.

The post said that her brother, Jason Tian, also died. The cause of death was “still under investigation,” according to the statement. The next day, it was deleted.

Lil Tay’s mother and father both did not have any comment at the time. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner also said they had no record of the alleged death.

In September, a month after Lil Tay and her family announced her death in a post on Instagram — Lil Tay shared a music video for her new song “Sucker 4 Green.”

In the music video, the “Two Yungins” musician was featured in a matching yellow top and short skirt, strutting in front of several luxury cars — a nod to her viral TikTok videos in which she flaunted buying expensive cars at a young age.

source: people.com