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A statement alleging that Lil Tay, who rose to stardom as a rapper and influencer on social media, had died was removed from her verified Instagram account Thursday, fueling questions about the validity of the original announcement about her death.
TMZ also reported on Thursday afternoon that the teen’s family provided a statement from Lil Tay to the outlet where she claimed that her Instagram account was “was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me.”
ABC News has not independently confirmed this report. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, declined to comment on whether a hack was reported by the account’s owner.
Attempts to reach Lil Tay, her mother Angela Tian and her brother Jason Tian were unsuccessful.
According to the TMZ report, Lil Tay 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 traumatizing 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.”
Questions about the validity of the Instagram post were fueled on Wednesday after the teen’s father, Chris Hope, declined to comment when asked by ABC News about reports that his daughter and her brother had died.
The teen rapper was 9 when she gained national attention for her controversial videos, which flaunted an extravagant lifestyle.
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