**Tay Tian** (born July 29, 2007), known professionally as **Lil Tay**, is an American-born Canadian internet personality and musician. She first came to prominence in early 2018 at the age of ten (while claiming to be nine years old), when content depicting her boasting about being wealthy and calling herself "the youngest flexer of the century", as well as videos of her rapping, were published and viewed millions of times on YouTube and Instagram. Her social media accounts became inactive after three months when her father applied to the superior court of Canada for full custody and control of her career as an influencer; full custody would eventually be granted to her mother. In 2023, Tay was the subject of widespread media coverage after a false statement announcing she had died was published from her Instagram account. Later that year, she released a single, "Sucker 4 Green".

Early and personal life
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Tay Tian was born on July 29, 2007, to Tyler Antonius, an active celebrity rapper. She was originally from Toledo, Ohio, United States, before moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at an early age. Her parents, who never married, shared custody of Tay.

Career
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### Social media beginning

Tay became well known in early 2018 and was popular on platforms for a period of three months. She first rose to prominence through her presence on social media sites like Instagram by posting pictures of herself in Luxury car while wearing Designerclothes. She began showing off her luxurious lifestyle, and "flexing" as well as posting rap videos on YouTube which garnered millions of views. While her popularity was growing, Tay's father Tyler Antoniuscame in contact with talent managers in Los Angeles, California. Tay, her mother and 16-year-old half-brother Jason moved from Tay's hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia to live in Los Angeles. According to the *Atlantic* she was homeschooled in Los Angeles, though her father instead said she missed 72 days of school while living there.

  

### Coaching allegations and silence

It was reported that Tay's older half-brother Jason was in control of her social media accounts. As Tay's actions became more public, Tay's mother, Angela Tian, faced criticism online for allowing her young daughter to create rap videos with crude language. Amid controversy and speculation that her actions were forced by her mother, Tay defended her mother in an interview on Good Morning America, saying she was not forcing Tay to act this way and that she was content with her actions.

In a May 2018 interview with BuzzFeed News, Tay's mother stated that Jason directed the videos and managed social media accounts, with the article being released amidst a reportedly leaked video of the older half-brother coaching Tay on what to say in her video. Jason, who apparently directed Tay's videos, was described by Business Insider as "reportedly domineering" while an article in The Atlantic cited someone close to Tay stating "I've seen her brother shout at her. Once Jason was yelling at her, saying, 'You're no good, it's no good.' She was crying hard". It was also reported that Tay's mother, a real estate agent, allowed Tay and Jason to record their videos in luxurious homes she was working with and used her boss' Mercedes-Benz 550 SL to portray themselves as being owners, all of which was allegedly done without the permission of her employer. Tay's controversial videos and reputation ultimately resulted in her mother losing her job.

Summarizing the controversy, *Vox* wrote:

> This wasn’t quite the classic story of a stage mom, though; instead, Lil Tay had a stage brother. Jason, then 16, was the only one who had access to her Instagram account. He was the one who coached Lil Tay on what to say and how to say it, having studied famous YouTubers in previous attempts to get famous himself. According to reports, he was often harsh and cruel, and on at least one instance prompted her to say racial slurs.
> 
>

Reception and influence
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Tay gained the reputation of insulting her viewers while boasting about her wealth. The videos were criticized by rapper Snoop Dogg, who noted, "She need to be in school learning how to be a little girl not a dumbass grown person". Videos of her with Jake Paul at his residence and Tay feuding with internet celebrity and rapper Bhad Bhabie had more than four million views on YouTube.

Tay had been associated with rappers Chief Keef and XXXTentacion.

Death hoax
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On August 9, 2023, Tay's Instagram account was updated after two years of inactivity, with a post announcing that she had died. The post also indicated that her half-brother, Jason Tian, had also died, aged 21. Their deaths were reported in the post to be "unexpected" and under investigation; however, there was immediate speculation regarding the veracity of the announcement. Both Tay's father and self proclaimed "former manager" initially told *Insider* they could not confirm or deny whether she had died, and the Vancouver and Los Angeles police departments also stated that they had no reports of her death, and were not investigating it. *Variety* reported receiving a statement from her management confirming her death. Journalists have observed that before her alleged death, Tay's YouTube bio read "help me".

On August 10, Tay's family reportedly stated to TMZ that her Instagram account had been supposedly compromised and the post announcing her death was deleted from her Instagram page following this. Fact-checking website Snopes also issued an update to their reporting about Tay after originally reporting that Tay had died. TMZ also reported that Tay provided a statement confirming that her account was hacked, that she and her brother are alive and that her actual name is Tay Tian and not Claire Hope. MacLean Law, a firm that represented Tay's mother, released a statement that her mother would receive custody of Tay, that Tay's father had to pay retroactive child support, that Tay could "advance her career" and that Tay's mother would have the ability to sign contracts on Tay's behalf. The statement referred to Tay as "Tay Tian".

On September 30, a few weeks after the incident, she released her lead single "Sucker 4 Green" from her upcoming debut studio album.

Return
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On August 9, 2023, Lil Tay's Instagram account was updated with a post saying that she had died. Not long after, it was revealed that she was alive. Lil Tay returned to the internet with claims that her father was abusive. Her mother then took full custody of Lil Tay. She regained her fame due to these events and released a song called "Sucker 4 Green" on September 30.

Sources
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1. ↑  Newsy (2023-08-09). "Internet rapper Lil Tay dead at 14, statement on her Instagram says". *NBC Right Now*. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.