Lil Tay shot to fame in 2018 for being, as she put it, ‘the youngest flexer of the century.’ Based solely on her Instagram videos, anyone would have believed it. She posed in expensive cars and on lavish balconies and always appeared to have a wad of cash around.
Tay grew her following through choreographed controversy, creating fake beefs with other influencers, including David Bregoli (a.k.a Bhad Bhabie). Tay’s fame came crashing down after reports emerged that almost everything she claimed to have was fake.
The then-9-year-old disappeared from the internet and is yet to return.
Lil Tay lives in Canada with her parents after her father filed for custody
The cracks in Lil Tay’s narrative started to show after it emerged that she portrayed a fake life on social media. Content creators often hire luxury cars and houses as props, but Tay used her mother’s real estate business to portray herself as a wealthy child.
Tay’s dalliance with LA luxury ended after her mother, Angela Tian, resigned as a realtor: she’d received multiple complaints from clients protesting the use of their property in Lil Tay’s content.
It also emerged that Lil Tay’s brother, Jason Tian, controlled much of what Tay did and said. “Lil Tay’s big brother who is like 16 years old is the one that is controlling her and telling her what to say,” YouTuber Keemstar said.
A leaked video showing Jason coaching Tay confirmed the rumors. Some tried to blame Lil Tay for faking her lifestyle, but it is unlikely that a 9-year-old could have pull it off without help from older people. Jason and Angela were the real culprits in this narrative. Dj Akademiks aptly put it:
“Her brother, who is 16, 17 – a failed YouTuber – has been manipulating her and using her as a mouthpiece to be a culture vulture. Lil Tay has racked up a ton of hate now she is getting exposed. People think it’s a 9-year-old behind it, but in reality, it’s a bad mom and a brother who is manipulative that we should be blaming.”
Tay’s father, Christopher Hope, responded by filing for custody of her daughter. “I was really unhappy that she had dropped out of school to participate in inappropriate activities that I thought could negatively affect her future and her present,” Hope said.
Following a bitter custody battle that saw Hope accused of child abuse, a court handed Christopher and Angela joint custody of Lil Tay. However, the court gave Christopher full decision-making power in legal matters.
We believe that in 2021, Lil Tay is in Canada, living a low-key life with her parents. Her former manager, Diomi Cordero, told Insider that he’d talked with Angela, and she affirmed that Lil Tay was ‘back in school and working on vocal lessons.’
Lil Tay’s brother claims that Tay suffers abuse at the hands of her father
Jason Tian has played a central role in the controversy surrounding Lil Tay. After Christopher filed for custody, he accused him of abusing Lil Tay. The accusations did little to influence the judge, who handed Christopher joint custody of Lil Tay.
Tian went silent for almost two years before surfacing in 2021. On Lil Tay’s Instagram page, he posted a photo of Lil Tay crying after she allegedly learned that her father would control her career. “She has been physically and mentally abused by Chris Hope and his current wife,” the caption read.
Jason implored fans to fund Lil Tay’s legal battle against Christopher as Tay’s father ‘had stolen everything from her.’ The post raised internet concern for Tay’s welfare, but the GoFundMe campaign received underwhelming donations.
At the time of writing, the donations are nowhere near the targeted $150,000. People have refused to donate because they fear that Jason was trying to enrich himself by lying about Tay’s alleged abuse.
“If you really want to know who’s in charge, it’s the brother,” people close to the family told The Atlantic in 2018. “The mother has lost control of the son and he is the head of the household.”
Jason posted photos allegedly showing marks of abuse on Lil Tay’s body. He claimed in captions that Hope had ‘silenced Tay through the legal system from speaking out about the truth.’ Jason added that Christopher had used Tay’s money to fund vacations and buy gifts for his wife.
In his last post, he posted a final plea begging the public to donate. He wrote:
“All donations help Tay, she is fighting in the Supreme Court now. The money is needed to help her in court, you guys want her back but she cannot come back unless she wins in court, Chris Hope has taken everything and will make sure Tay never comes out to speak about the truth.”
It’s easy to understand why people refuse to believe Jason – he is a proven master manipulator. The hope is that his accusations of abuse are false and that Tay is happy in Vancouver, Canada.