Very sad news this week as the family of former viral superstar Lil Tay say she has passed away at the age of 14. Tay had a crazy rise to stardom back in 2018 at just 9 years old by making videos about what a baller she was and starting beef with Bhad Bhabie (the ‘catch me outside’ girl).
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It was a pretty mental time in the internet’s history; Lil Tay, Bad Bhabie, WoahhVicky and the like going stupidly viral just for being crass and flexing how much money they had, while picking fights with each other. It was actually really dumb and annoying, but the internet lapped it up.
Lil Tay disappeared from the spotlight a few years back but there was one story that involved her brother (who reportedly also passed away) starting a GoFundMe because their dad was apparently taking away their finances:
The statement confirms her brother’s death with unclear circumstances under investigation. In 2021, Lil Tay’s sibling started a ‘GoFundMe’, claiming their father sought control over their finances and custody.https://t.co/Sw3lRvOIUA
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) August 9, 2023
Her brother had written the following on the situation:
My sister Tay has been silent on social media for the past 3 years because her absentee father (Chris Hope) served my mother a court order demanding control over Tay’s money, career, and custody, and as a result it was court ordered that my sister had to return to Vancouver, Canada. He also requested through a court order to prevent her from speaking out about the truth. Since then he has stolen millions of dollars from my sister and has taken control of all her funds. He has signed million dollar deals and taken all of Tay’s money for himself, he has spent millions buying himself and his wife (Hanee Hope) a new mansion, speed boat, nice cars, trips to spas, salons, fancy restaurants, trips to Egypt, Dubai, Mexico, Philippines, Hawaii, the UK, Paris, designer clothing and jewelry/watches from head to toe, they have been living a lavish lifestyle for the past 3 years off of Tay’s money.
Sounds like a wild story that has unfortunately just taken a tragic turn of events.
During Tay’s rapid rise to fame, she was making videos where she cursed a lot and showed off her money and lifestyle while ranting about how broke everyone else was. The reason it was so weirdly entertaining is because Lil Tay was only 9 years old at the time, which makes the whole concept even more ridiculous. Here are some of her highlights:
She even appeared in videos with Jake Paul, now one of the biggest stars the internet has ever produced:
Lil Tay stuntin’ on y’all with Jake Paul 👀 @jakepaul pic.twitter.com/ploaHm0BaR
— WORLDSTARHIPHOP (@WORLDSTAR) May 1, 2018
Whatever your thoughts on this sort of thing, we can all agree that Lil Tay was too young to die. I’m sure more details will become available in due course (not to mention conspiracy theories), but for now, RIP to the Youngest Flexer and a true legend of internet history.
