Warning: Graphic description of child neglect and abuse.
BY: JAEQWON SUAREZ / DEPUTY ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Tay Tian, also known as Lil Tay, has just made a debut reappearance back to the online world after a couple of years of disappearing and going offline.
It wasn’t until Sep.30, that the world was proven wrong. Having released her single SUCKER 4 GREEN with a music video, many were confused by her sudden appearance online and speculated that maybe she was the one who posted her death just to have her fans guessing for a month before the single.
SUCKER 4 GREEN has somewhat of a catchy tune attached to general lyrics, flexing about money and wealth. The music video also expresses the same ideas as well, as we see Lil Tay in front of many foreign cars and in front of a huge mansion with two of her friends throughout the video.
Anger and confusion were expressed by many on social media, as her fans thought it was a sick joke to make considering they hadn’t seen or heard from her since she was 11 or 12.
What Happened to Lil Tay?
One does have to wonder, how is she still alive? What made her come to the Internet after five years of her disappearance? That and many more questions linger as we delve into what she has to say about her disappearance.
Sometime in the late summer, a post was made on Lil Tay’s Instagram account stating how she was no longer with us. Although the post is no longer up, an article from Insider was able to capture what the post had said:
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire's sudden and tragic passing …This outcome was entirely unexpected and has left us all in shock. Her brother's passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief. During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother's passing are still under investigation."
This led many of her fans to assume that she was dead, along with her brother as it was also vaguely mentioned in the post. While many couldn’t believe it, statements from both her mother, Angela Tian, and her father, Christopher Hope, were trying to be made to further explain the situation and what caused her death.
No statements were made from either of them, but what makes the story complex is the fact that the Vancouver Police Department had no records of her death. Not only that, but Los Angeles’s law agencies have not heard of any missing reports or deaths either.
Lil Tay’s Instagram Live
She proceeded to go live on Instagram and share her side of the story, or at least a summary of the past 5 years.
Her mother and Christopher Hope were constantly courting her. Hope wanted control of the money that Lil Tay was making at the time, and as she stated in the video, it was the first time in a few years that she decided to come back into her life.
She goes on to discuss the different kinds of abuse she had to go through, one of them being how badly his wife, Hanee Hope, treated and abused her. “She would always take her anger out on me… Chris mainly shoved me” Lil Tay stated.
She goes on to say that domestic abuse against her was a common thing in the house, with it mainly being physical, but also mental as well, having her watch horror movies at a young age to scare her.
The two also didn’t give Lil Tay a healthy diet either, as she shows pictures of moldy and parasitic food. She was in torn clothes as well, with her shoes almost always being broken, while Christopher, she says, was spoiling her wife with new purses and trips.
She ends her Live by saying she is free now, and that both she and her mom can peacefully enjoy their lives and move on from the Hopes. Her Live can be found on youtube, as she delves more into the music industry and the other kinds of abuse Christopher Hope was trying to do to her at the time.